- CO-OP: El Finquerito
- PROVINCE: Pichincha
- TOWN: Puerto Quito
- FARMERS: 40
- CLIMATE: 25°C average
- ALTITUDE: Mínimum 500, maximum 1200 msnm
UNIÓN DE ORGANIZACIONES DE PRODUCTORES DE CACAO ARRIBA ESMERALDAS, “UOPROCAE”
THE CO-OP
In Pedro Vicente Maldonado, In the Province of Pichincha, Juan Carlos Mesias began his trajectory as a very young man, purchasing fine aroma cocoa trees to plant on his father’s farm that had lost much of his previous crop to their own farm animals. As time went on, he began to experience the difficulty in selling his product as a single producer. In 2008, he decided to organize a group that consisted of himself and his fellow farmers with the same needs. They began knocking on doors in different cities offering Nacional cacao. They discovered 40 more families that also grew other crops for a living such as papaya, sugar cane, lemon, guayaba, guanabana, and plantain. These families also had cattle and milk production. Thus, with everyone coming together, they were able to form El Finquerito (The Little Farm).
THE PROVINCE
Puerto Quito is a town and urban parish in the province of Pichincha, Ecuador. The town is a developing area for eco-tourism, thanks to an abundance of wildlife, secondary jungle and beautiful waterfalls such as the Cascada Azul (Blue Waterfall). Puerto Quito is situated beside a major bridge over the river Caoní on the main road from Quito to the coast. By road, Quito is 140 km or 3.5 hours by bus. Although geographically it’s part of the sierra region of Ecuador, Puerto Quito’s climate and geography is closer to that of the coastal region. The town is located in the tropical forest of Ecuador. As such, it has a higher temperature than the rest of the province, averaging around 25 degrees Celsius year-round. Average rainfall is between one and two meters a year.
LOCATION
-
ARRIBA NACIONAL CACAO - CO-OP: El Finquerito
- FARMERS: 40
- PROVINCE: Pichincha
- TOWN: Puerto Quito
- CLIMATE: 25°C average
- ALTITUDE: Mínimum 500, maximum 1200 msnm