Eat delicious chocolate!

Keep an eye out - Ecudorian chocolate is delicious and so far the only I could find of it in the US was Lindor´s - which was great, but if you buy this stuff, it will support the village directly that is trying to figure out a way to have/make a sustainable living. It´s hard here, to not just give away your raw product to out-of-country businesses, so I applaud these efforts.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Premium-Kallari-Chocolate-Bars-From/story.aspx?guid=%7BEB07F8E7-5E0E-4449-BAAE-E171C6DF1716%7D


PRESS RELEASE

Premium Kallari Chocolate Bars From Ecuador Establish Revolutionary Business Model in Chocolate Industry

Kallari Chocolate bar sales launched in the U.S. in November 2008 at Whole Foods stores.

Last update: 3:20 p.m. EST Nov. 17, 2008

BRIDGEWATER, N.J., Nov 17, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Kallari Chocolate bars -- offering "sustainable pleasure for palate and planet" -- hit US shelves at Whole Foods stores in November 2008. Supermarket Guru Phil Lempert called Kallari Chocolate "one of the best chocolates I have tasted." New York Times reporter Jill Santopietro recently compared eight organic, Fair Trade or Rainforest Alliance certified chocolate bars and rated Kallari Chocolate highest. The chocolate bars are made by the Kallari Association, a cooperative of over 850 Quichua families in Napo Province in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

- 100 percent of profits from sales of the chocolate bars are returned to the Kallari Association. -

Recognizing that most of the profit is to be made from sales of chocolate bars, not the cacao beans, the Quichua people created a cooperative where they would have more control over revenues. The Kallari Association, with its self- reliant governance and innovative economic model, is nothing short of revolutionary in the global chocolate industry. Cacao production provides the Quichua people with a viable income so they have the economic resources to resist logging their forests or succumb to the short-term riches offered by petroleum extraction.
Over the last year, Kallari has been mentored by an American businessman, Stephen McDonnell, Founder and CEO of Applegate Farms in Bridgewater, NJ, a leading producer of natural and organic deli meats and cheeses. McDonnell provided start-up funds and business expertise, including working with Whole Foods Market to showcase this product in their Specialty departments. McDonnell has been inspired by the work of Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Prize Winner and founder of the Grameen Bank, who is known for his work with microloans that help to "create economic and social development from below."

- Cacao Nacional de Arriba -

The cacao beans for Kallari Chocolate are a blend of several varietals, with the main flavor attributed to the Cacao Nacional de Arriba bean. In 2004, these rare beans were singled out by the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity as a Presidia heirloom varietal. Kallari Chocolate bars are currently available in 75% and 85%-cacao content. For more information, visit http://www.kallarichocolate.com/. Members of the media may request product samples by contacting Eleanor Bertino Public Relations, office@eleanorbertinopr.com.

SOURCE Kallari Chocolate http://www.kallarichocolate.com/

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