Farmers who took part in three days of seminars, led by government agencies and international organisations on how to compete on the world stage, described it as eye- opening. Cocoa farmer for more than a decade, Agnes Nara from South Bougainville, was a first- time participant at the festival and said she wanted to “see for myself what happens”, describing how she learned a lot of new things “and also about some of my failures as a farmer in how we process our cocoa. At the same time, I have also seen that many of our local farmers are already very well advanced.” Osbourne Tavira, a cocoa farmer from Central Bougainville, whose cocoa beans won a bronze medal this year, said even more training was needed. “To reach the premium quality, there must
in Central Bougainville, proudly debuted her first chocolate bars this year. “For far too long our parents had only produced cocoa dry beans. It is now up to this generation to focus on chocolate making,” Mary said. “I would proudly sell my chocolate ‘Mala Choco’ as a brand product in Bougainville.” The festival also offered an intensive learning experience for farmers, with seminars focusing on quality control and global standards – crucial as Bougainville progresses its political journey toward nationhood. “We’ve already got a big market here as Bougainvilleans drink a lot of coffee”
Roselyn Noruka, owner of Akuron Coffee
Chocolate, cocoa butter oil and other products made from Bougainville cocoa
Cocoa and coconut soap made by women in the Ioro Constituency in Central Bougainville
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