Upon learning of his troops’ devastating losses in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, soon to be Emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, is said to have proclaimed “Damn sugar! Damn coffee! Damn colonies!” Two years later in 1804, the colony would proudly proclaim its independence as Haiti, and Napoleon would soon after part with most French holdings in the Western Hemisphere (Baptist, Edward E). While the Haitian revolution would wipe out coffee production on the island and contribute to a “sharp decrease” (Mintz, 69) in global sugar production, there was another casualty not included in Napoleon’s famous epithet: cacao.
The first commercial cacao plantation of the Spanish empire was established by Hernando Cortez in present day Haiti during the early 1500’s (“Chocolate History”). While this early attempt did not turn out favorably for Spain, it did not stifle other attempts to increase cacao production on the island. The period spanning the early 17th century through the early 19th century “saw the institution…of large scale cocoa production” in which “Haiti’s cocoa production dwarfed that of Venezuela, being nearly ten times as large” (a Brief History of Chocolate) However, following the Haitian revolution, there was a distinct move away from the plantation system as former slaves strongly tied independence to land ownership. When the country divided briefly into the northern kingdom and the southern republic, a plantation system was maintained in the north while small plots of land were distributed to those in the south. Unsurprisingly, the population preferred the “free and poor” life of the latter over the “happy against their will” (Girard, p.67) existence often used to describe northerners. Once the North fell following Christophe’s suicide by silver bullet, Jean-Pierre Boyer reunited the country and instituted the smallholder farmer system nationwide. However, the propagation of small landholder model meant a precipitous decline in production.
In the years to follow, political mismanagement, global isolation driven by fear – many nations at the time still had legal slavery and had no desire for their “property” to be filled with ideas of independence – and racism led to a steady decline in the Haitian economy. By 2015, over 200 years since Haiti declared independence, Haitian cacao made up only 0.1% of global supply, averaging just 4,500ha a year (confectionerynews.com). This diminutive output, while rooted in historical injustices, is also due to the following causes:
- Post-harvest loss estimated to be between 20-25%, due to “poorly kept ageing plantations that are usually in just one hectare of land and managed by ageing farmers” (confectionerynews.com) Many youth in Haiti, not seeing a future in agriculture, migrate to urban centers for education and work opportunities.
- Haitian cacao being sold unfermented due to poor infrastructure for drying which often leads to mold growth during the rainy periods (confectionerynews.com).
- Lack of access to credit facilities (confectionerynews.com)
- Lack of access to electricity, including affordable electricity, electricity for more than 6 hours a day, and predictable/scheduled electricity (“How Askanya Is Reviving Haiti’s Chocolate Industry”)
- Lack of awareness of Haiti as a origin for fine cacao, particularly among American consumers (“Haitian Chocolate Project.”) While the Dominican Republic is a fairly well-known origin country, and services both the US and Latin American markets, many consumers are unaware that the countries share an island and that Haiti has comparable cacao.
- Burdensome government regulations that do not respond to market needs and make it tenuous for businesses to operate within the country (Haiti ranks 181st on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report (Doing Business in Haiti))
- Arcane property laws (including land tenure) that make it difficult (and often costly) to even secure a site (Building a Stronger Haiti with Chocolate)
- Low investment by growers at the plantation level as well as the lack of research on cocoa varieties and the improvement of their aromatic and productive potential (“Le Cacao D’Haïti”)
However in recent years there have been a number of initiatives to revitalize the Haitian cacao industry. Premium chocolate companies such as Taza (“Haiti Trip!”), Equitable, Singing Rooster, and Askanya have worked to both source Haitian cacao as well as create sustainable bean-to-bar production companies within the country. Because of their efforts, Haitian chocolate can now be purchased at Whole Foods, and other fine retailers in the United States, France, and Belgium. Products include Taza’s 84% Dark Haiti Chocolate Bar (“84% Dark Haiti.”) and Singing Rooster’s Lemon Ginger Chocolate Bar (“Haitian Chocolate (and Raw Cacao for Bean to Bar Makers)”). Haitian cacao has also been used in beauty products, with Haitian-owned companies such as Kreyol Essence (“Haitian Black Castor Oil”) producing Haitian Organic Chocolate Black Castor Oil, also sold at Whole Foods.
Furthermore, noting that cacao accounts for 30 percent of the country’s primary exports, the Ministry of Agriculture (MARNDR), along with donors such as the IDB, USDA, and USAID, have worked to improve infrastructure, farmer/cooperative capacity and access to markets. In 2011, FECCANO, became the first Haitian cooperative to export fermented cocoa, which was also certified fair and organic. In November 2013, Haiti’s cocoa was voted the best in the world, according to the International Cocoa Awards (“Le Cacao D’Haïti”).
Thus while the challenges are plentiful there exists a strong possibility to build up the cacao industry in Haiti and create livelihoods for tens of thousands of families on the island. While some components are structural and must be addressed by the government and donors, consumers can as well support Haitian cacao by purchasing specialty bars and spreading the word about the emerging market. Haiti also serves as a microcosm for the nuanced history cacao has throughout the Americas, showing how a product that was initially associated with slavery and forced labor can, with a concerted effort, be transformed into a product that provides freedom for it’s growers in the form of new opportunities for education, healthcare, and property-an example of just some of the items cacao livelihoods can provide. The responsibility now is for everyone in the supply chain to practice responsible production and consumption to assure that cacao continues to be a plant of opportunity and joy.
Works Cited
a Brief History of Chocolate, http://www.hhhh.org/cloister/chocolate/history.html.
Doing Business in Haiti – World Bank Group, http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/haiti.
Building a Stronger Haiti with Chocolate | University of Michigan News, ns.umich.edu/new/multimedia/videos/24582-building-a-stronger-haiti-with-chocolate.
“84% Dark Haiti.” Taza Chocolate, http://www.tazachocolate.com/products/84-dark-haiti.
Baptist, Edward E. “The Ironic, Tragic History of the Louisiana Purchase That Your Teacher Never Told You.” Slate Magazine, 6 Aug. 2015, http://www.slate.com/articles/life/history/2015/08/the_most_successful_slave_rebellion_in_history_created_an_independent_haiti.html.
“Category:Haitian Revolution.” Category:Haitian Revolution – Wikimedia Commons, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Haitian_Revolution.
“Chocolate History.” Martsipan, martsipan.ee/en/sokolaadi-ajalugu.
Girard, Philippe R. Haiti: the Tumultuous History–from Pearl of the Caribbean to Broken Nation. Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.
“Haiti Trip! Taza Is the First American Chocolate Company to Source Organic Haitian Cacao.” Taza Chocolate, http://www.tazachocolate.com/blogs/news/67713347-haiti-trip-taza-is-the-first-american-chocolate-company-to-source-organic-haitian-cacao.
“Haitian Black Castor Oil Organic Chocolate 100% Natural 3.4oz.” Kreyòl Essence, kreyolessence.com/products/haitian-black-castor-oil-chocolate-arome-chokola.
“Haitian Chocolate (and Raw Cacao for Bean to Bar Makers).” Direct Trade Haitian Coffee, Art, Chocolate, 3 Feb. 2017, singingrooster.org/haitian-chocolate-and-raw-cacao-for-candy-makers/.
“Haitian Chocolate Project.” Yellow Seed, http://www.yellow-seed.org/origins/haitian-chocolate-project.
“How Askanya Is Reviving Haiti’s Chocolate Industry.” Kreyolicious.com, 8 Sept. 2016, kreyolicious.com/askanya-haitian-chocolate-industry/24851.
“Le Cacao D’Haïti : Entre Filière Porteuse Et Absence De Politiques Publiques.” Quotidien Le National, 2 Mar. 2016, http://www.lenational.org/cacao-dhaiti-entre-filiere-porteuse-absence-de-politiques-publique/.
Mintz, Sidney W. Sweetness and Power: the Place of Sugar in Modern History. Penguin, 1985.
confectionerynews.com. “After the Earthquake: Haitian Cocoa Rep Rises on High-End Chocolate Scene.” Confectionerynews.com, 17 Feb. 2015, http://www.confectionerynews.com/Article/2015/02/17/Haitian-cocoa-a-rising-origin-for-premium-chocolate.
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