Cacao Seedlings and Lemongrass Expansion
While the spring months at Finca Chocolat are filled with the ongoing rhythms of harvesting, fermenting, and drying cacao, it’s also a time of quiet transformation in our nursery—the place where the next generation of our farm takes root.
Just a few months ago, in January, we shared a photo of freshly germinated cacao seedlings. Now, those tiny sprouts are well on their way, steadily maturing under the careful watch of our nursery team. By this fall, these young trees will be strong enough to be transplanted to the fields, where they’ll become part of our long-term agroforestry system—producing cacao for decades to come.
But cacao isn’t the only thing growing.
This spring also marks an expansion in our lemongrass cultivation. We’ve been steadily increasing our plantings each year, and in 2025 we’re taking a significant step forward. Lemongrass is a perfect fit for our model: it thrives as an understory crop, grows rapidly, and—importantly—can be distilled into a high-value, non-perishable essential oil ideal for export.
These new lemongrass seedlings, now well established, will be planted out during the summer of 2025 and are expected to be ready for harvest and oil production by October of the same year. Their fast growth and early yield timeline make them an exciting complement to our longer-term cacao and hardwood systems.
As always, every step we take—whether nurturing cacao seedlings or expanding lemongrass production—is driven by our core mission: to create a regenerative, export-focused farm that delivers value to our customers and lasting impact in southern Belize.