At times we plant for ‘farm use’ as much as for future sales. In this case we recently planted 100 yellow dwarf coconut trees and 50 hybrids (a mix of the yellow dwarf and the local coconut found in Belize). While we can use the actual coconuts to make oil and other products for local sale in the future these were planted more for the coconut coir we will have onsite to use as a base for our vanilla cultivation.
Growing our inputs allows Finca Chocolat to keep expenses low and reduces our reliance on others. In Belize this is important as logistics and transportation are expensive and often complicated. We will continue to expand this ‘coconut nursery’ over the years as we have done with our banana, plantain, vanilla and lemongrass.