Por Jacob Olander El precio de la vainilla ha alcanzado un máximo histórico. Con precios de US$550-600 el quilo de vainas de vainilla, esta preciada especia tiene mayor valor, libra por libra, que la plata. Una restricción global de la oferta está poniendo presión en empresas que dependen de este ingrediente – y está […]
Read More… from La vainilla tan valiosa como la plata, ¿oportunidad para agricultores?
By Jacob Olander The price of vanilla beans is at a record high. With prices hitting $550-600 per kilogram of black vanilla beans, this precious spice is now worth more, pound-for-pound, than silver. A global supply crunch is putting pressure on companies that rely on the ingredient – and creating new potential opportunities for […]
Read More… from With vanilla as valuable as silver, opportunities for farmers?
The holidays can bring a welcome change of pace, when we slow down and share time with friends and family. This sharing includes gifts which […]
Tourists returning from Andean South America will usually sport some sort of “alpaca item”: gloves, sweaters, hats, socks, all with pre-columbian-style designs, inevitably including the form of an alpaca. However, buyers rarely glimpse the truth behind this iconic industry—that the alpaca as well the artisans who work with a centuries-old tradition are in peril. But, like in centuries past, alpacas fit perfectly into the Andean environment and the needs of our modern lifestyles. Thanks to the efforts of two Ecuadorian initiatives, it is reappearing, […]
Read More… from Alpaca: Sustainable Futures from Past Cultures
We recently worked with a Shanghai-based startup, Cambio Coffee, to connect them with sustainable producer groups as they searched for new partners in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. We joined up with Cambio Coffee’s Sebastián and Felipe Martin for part of their trip when they visited Quito and the Galapagos Islands. Cambio Coffee is a growing social enterprise dedicated to creating a positive impact on the environment and farming communities in Latin America […]
In our last blog, Lourdes Páez explained the history of cocoa in Ecuador, and the challenges and opportunities in its production today. Here, we introduce you to some native Amazonian cocoa producers, and to the hope that proper cocoa production holds for them, as well as for the futures of chocolate and conservation. […]
Read More… from Cocoa: From Native producers in its Native Land
Canopy Bridge recently had a chance to sit down with Lourdes Páez, an outstanding social entrepreneur working to enhance appreciation for Ecuador’s excellent cocoa and create more value for farmers of the country’s fine flavor beans. Lourdes heads the Academia del Chocolate, an organization dedicated to training and research to improve the quality, recognition and benefits of fine cocoa, and she recently launched a beautiful book dedicated to Ecuador´s rich cocoa heritage, Ecuador tierra del cacao.36″ height=”111″ />
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Read More… from From chocolate lover to chocolate expert: a personal story
Virtually unknown outside its native Amazon rainforest home, ishpingo (or American Cinnamon) has a deep, earthy, fruity flavor that adds a surprising and hard-to-place dimension to both sweet and savory dishes. Once a promising spice that moved the dreams of adventurers, isphingo deserves to be rediscovered and better known. […]
Read More… from Rediscover ishpingo: the Amazon’s hidden treasure
