Make a reservation enquiry - click here
Chocolate Ethics




Chocolate Ethics   In Saint Lucia, we are pursuing our passion for chocolate by becoming one of the world’s few origin chocolatiers – growing our own cocoa. The restoration of the historic Rabot Estate (pronounced ra-BOW) is continuing at pace, with new trees being planted and record quantities of cocoa being harvested. But we’re also reaching out to the wider cocoa community in St Lucia through our Engaged Ethics Cocoa Programme.

For 20 years cocoa farming in St Lucia has been in decline, something we’ve started to change by guaranteeing to buy local cocoa at prices 40% above those previously achieved. Our early results are promising – with interest in cocoa on the up, we’ve already helped create one hundred new jobs to date. Local farmers now have a secure income and feel confident enough to breathe new life into their farms through investment.
A brighter future -

Chocolate Ethics   Prior to our arrival in St Lucia, the outlook for a cocoa farmer wasn’t very bright. After harvesting there was no guaranteed market for all your crop. After finding out how much of it was going to be bought, you might have to wait 6 months to be paid. As we found out for ourselves, growing cocoa under these conditions is a loss-making enterprise.

From our base at Rabot Estate we have reached out to the wider cocoa-growing community with our Engaged Ethics Cocoa Programme. - We guarantee we will buy all the quality cocoa that farmers in the programme wish to sell. - We pay 30% - 40% above the world market price. We pay within one week. - We buy the cocoa ‘wet’ i.e not fermented to ensure consistent taste quality and leaving the farmers to concentrate on growing and replanting.
Turning industry practice on its head -

Chocolate Ethics   Everything we do is supported by advice and technical expertise. Phil Buckley (Estate Director at Rabot) has already carried out four “Field School” workshops to farmer groups throughout St Lucia and continues to do them. In addition, when our chocolate factory is built at Rabot Estate, further St Lucians will be drawn into the supply chain, adding value locally to the cocoa bean; chocolaterie workers, drivers, tour guides, engineers, support staff, will all be trained and developed.

The industry model for the global chocolate industry is to buy only the commodity crop from the developing nation and then to add all the chocolate-making value to it back in Europe or the US. This initiative turns industry practise on its head and creates a more even distribution of benefits from those who love fine chocolate to those who actually grow it.
Today -

Today -   Angus and Peter have invested heavily, re-planting thousands of new cacao trees, raising the quality of the fermentation to get a fantastic quality bean and putting together a team of local talent led by Phil Buckley – a resourceful cacao tree hugging eco-engineer. His wife Judy is an expert on team building and quality control. They have reached out to the other cacao growers on the island to stimulate a Cocoa Renaissance as part of their Engaged Ethics programme. When visiting you should certainly take one of our Cocoa Tours.

There are now 80 growers who have formally joined the scheme.

They get a commitment
- all the beans they grow will be bought, giving a secure and guaranteed market
- they will be paid about 30% above world cocoa prices
- will be paid 1 week after delivery
- free technical help
- subsidised cocoa tree seedlings to plant out

Now there is a thriving cocoa growing sector and an estimated 300 new jobs have been created amongst these growers. Sustainable benefits brought about by making investments of time, money and passion.