Initiatives in Cacao Origin Regions
Sustainability

Felchlin Sélection Guidelines

Our self-imposed guidelines guarantee the sustainability of our raw ingredients. We acquire the highest quality raw ingredients with multi-facetted rich flavours and place value in transparency, fair conditions and working in harmony with nature.

Felchlin FAIR DIRECT CACAO

We source the cacao for our exclusive couvertures directly and thanks to the long-term contracts and established relationships, our partners, cooperatives, and cacao farmers have security. Our price model takes the market price as a base line, to which we add an additional Felchlin premium for sustainability and quality assurance.

CACAO PRINCIPLES

  • 1

    Every single cacao shipment is subjected to a sensory inspection to ensure it meets our requirements in terms of aroma.

  • 2

    To guarantee the high quality of our cacao, we pay prices that are far above the market price.

  • 3

    We only use cacao beans where the origin is clearly regulated and know who is responsible for the cultivation of the cacao beans we buy.

  • 4

    We are familiar with the working and production conditions on-site and are committed to ensuring that the cacao can be produced in a socially acceptable way for the farmers and their families and in harmony with nature.

  • 5

    We maintain close business relations on an equal footing with our local partners in the country of origin and visit them regularly.

  • 6

    We have a long-term commitment to ensure that future generations of farmers and producers also receive a share of their income.

Health Care

in Cacao Origin Regions

Since 2021 we have been committed to the basic health care of our cacao farmers and their families. The project, a strategic partnership with the start up “Elucid,” which is supported by Felchlin customers as well as the Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa, contributes to improving health, protecting against extreme poverty, and increasing productivity. With this commitment, Max Felchlin AG meets UN Sustainable Development Goals 1 “No Poverty” and 3 “Health and Wellbeing”.

Learn more about the individual projects

Commitment Against Deforestation

Max Felchlin AG attaches great importance to quality and sustainable initiatives. It supports and promotes sustainable cultivation and operating methods and demands EUDR-conforming raw materials from its suppliers, so that the cacao cultivation areas can be used long term and preserved for future generations. Suppliers must commit to EUDR conformity of cacao raw materials and cacao products and their traceability, implemented via a supplier code of conduct.

Commitment Against Child Labour

Max Felchlin AG has issued its own company guidelines about child labour. These guidelines, as well as their implementation and auditing, are also regulated in cooperation with partners, cooperatives, and farmers at the origin by means of a supplier code of conduct. All employees as well as partners, cooperatives and farmers are regularly informed about and trained on this topic.

Our aim is to protect children from exploitation and we adhere to the principles laid out in the Constitution of the International Labour Organization (ILO). We strongly condemn any kind of forced work or child slavery as well as any practices that exploit children or subject them to harmful or dangerous working conditions. We strictly adhere to local laws regarding the minimum age of labour and other employment conditions.

Cacao With Origins in West Africa

Our cacao from Ghana comes exclusively from our partner Yayra Glover (Yayra Glover Ltd.), who is regarded as a pioneer of organic cacao in Ghana. Max Felchlin AG has been actively and financially supporting Yayra Glover ever since he initially began applying his vision. Thanks to this engagement we now obtain extremely high-quality organic cacao that meets Felchlin's quality standards. Yayra Glover Ltd.’s organically certified cacao complies with the Organic Farming Ordinance Switzerland and the EU organic production regulation and is deforestation-free, traceable and sets local standards for the prevention of child labour.

More about the cacao origin Ghana

Origin of our cacaos

Each cacao region of origin has its own challenges, opportunities and starting points. We are familiar with the situations on site and are in regular contact with our partners. Find out more about the individual regions of origin.

Discover

“We live with passion and responsibility to bring enjoyment from the origin around the world.”

Accruals for sustainable support

Every year, Felchlin sets up accruals to support sustainable projects in the regions of origin (formerly the Felchlin Cacao Fund). Furthermore to the FAIR DIRECT CACAO philosophy Felchlin has an additional opportunity to finance projects such as the construction of schools, to stem the rural exodus, to grow cacao plants and to generally improve quality and sustainably support people and nature in the regions of origin. The health projects of Akwaaba in Ghana, Salud sur del Lago in Venezuela and Salud Esmeraldas in Ecuador are currently being financed from it.

Below you will find a range of projects that have been implemented thanks to Felchlin's support.

Tree Nursery Sambirano

In 2017, Felchlin launched a project for the women's community in Ambalavelona, the area where our cacao is grown. This organisation was founded by employees of our partner and is actively involved in cacao at the local level. The aim of the project is to financially support the local women's community in setting up a tree nursery for cocoa trees. Thanks to the project, an infrastructure is created to raise young cacao trees with the help of our partner's knowledge. The organisation then sells the young cocoa seedlings to the local farmers, who in turn provide us with the cocoa as raw material.

COMPOSTING IN GRENADA

Thanks to support from the Cacao Fund, Grenada received a local composting facility. A significant step towards successful value creation in agriculture and a long-term benefit for the natural environment and the farmers: high-quality compost firstly conserves the soil and secondly stimulates growth on the cultivated land.

Research in Costa Rica

The Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) in Costa Rica is working on improving the virus resistance of cacao fruits and researching into new quality concepts and ways of improving cacao’s adaptability to climate change. Felchlin was participating in the research, whilst helping implement the results at the local plantations to ensure healthy harvests and enhance the income and living conditions of the farming families in the region.

School in Madagascar

With a school built in 2014 in the north of Madagascar, Felchlin supports the people in the area of origin Ambalavelona-Ambanja. Aspiring cacao farmers and agronomy students have the opportunity to attend courses on cacao cultivation. In addition to the construction of the new school premises, Felchlin designed and financed suitable teaching materials in the form of learning booklets for the students in Ambalavelona and the surrounding area. These describe how cacao is grown, so that the students gain important knowledge about regional agriculture and the cultivation of quality cacao. The lessons are taught by our partner in Sambirano.

Organic Cacao from Ghana

Yayra Glover, born and raised in Ghana, studied in Switzerland and started his family here. He had the vision of generating a secure income for the farmers in his home country through the sustainable cultivation of organic cocoa and thus counteracting poverty and the rural exodus. With the approval of the Ghana Cocoa Board, Yayra Glover was the first person to be allowed to sell cocoa from the Suhum District directly to Felchlin and has done pioneering work with the whole project. You can find out more about this project in the documentary film "Zartbitter".

Planting of cacao trees in Ecuador

With the tree project in Ecuador, Felchlin directly supported the planting of young cacao trees in the Aprocane cooperative in 2014/2015. The trained forester Henrris Castillo Mina was the project manager on site. He carefully took care of the seedlings and incorporated his knowledge of sustainability and the best locations for the plants when planting the several thousand cacao trees.

Header nachhaltigkeit
Grenada5 web
Forschung Costa Rica
Felchlin selection richtlinien
101116 6100
Cacaobaeume Ecuador

Tree Nursery Sambirano

In 2017, Felchlin launched a project for the women's community in Ambalavelona, the area where our cacao is grown. This organisation was founded by employees of our partner and is actively involved in cacao at the local level. The aim of the project is to financially support the local women's community in setting up a tree nursery for cocoa trees. Thanks to the project, an infrastructure is created to raise young cacao trees with the help of our partner's knowledge. The organisation then sells the young cocoa seedlings to the local farmers, who in turn provide us with the cocoa as raw material.

Header nachhaltigkeit

COMPOSTING IN GRENADA

Thanks to support from the Cacao Fund, Grenada received a local composting facility. A significant step towards successful value creation in agriculture and a long-term benefit for the natural environment and the farmers: high-quality compost firstly conserves the soil and secondly stimulates growth on the cultivated land.

Grenada5 web

Research in Costa Rica

The Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) in Costa Rica is working on improving the virus resistance of cacao fruits and researching into new quality concepts and ways of improving cacao’s adaptability to climate change. Felchlin was participating in the research, whilst helping implement the results at the local plantations to ensure healthy harvests and enhance the income and living conditions of the farming families in the region.

Forschung Costa Rica

School in Madagascar

With a school built in 2014 in the north of Madagascar, Felchlin supports the people in the area of origin Ambalavelona-Ambanja. Aspiring cacao farmers and agronomy students have the opportunity to attend courses on cacao cultivation. In addition to the construction of the new school premises, Felchlin designed and financed suitable teaching materials in the form of learning booklets for the students in Ambalavelona and the surrounding area. These describe how cacao is grown, so that the students gain important knowledge about regional agriculture and the cultivation of quality cacao. The lessons are taught by our partner in Sambirano.

Felchlin selection richtlinien

Organic Cacao from Ghana

Yayra Glover, born and raised in Ghana, studied in Switzerland and started his family here. He had the vision of generating a secure income for the farmers in his home country through the sustainable cultivation of organic cocoa and thus counteracting poverty and the rural exodus. With the approval of the Ghana Cocoa Board, Yayra Glover was the first person to be allowed to sell cocoa from the Suhum District directly to Felchlin and has done pioneering work with the whole project. You can find out more about this project in the documentary film "Zartbitter".

101116 6100

Planting of cacao trees in Ecuador

With the tree project in Ecuador, Felchlin directly supported the planting of young cacao trees in the Aprocane cooperative in 2014/2015. The trained forester Henrris Castillo Mina was the project manager on site. He carefully took care of the seedlings and incorporated his knowledge of sustainability and the best locations for the plants when planting the several thousand cacao trees.

Cacaobaeume Ecuador