HAPPi, which pledges 1% of its profits to charity each year, says it has co-created the new project to ensure the future of Colombia’s cacao growing farmers and to protect its rich ecosystem, which is under threat from illegal poachers, deforestation and climate change.
Colombia is Luker Chocolate’s (an ethical and premium cocoa supplier), homeland and also one the most biodiverse country per square mile in the world. That means that the Colombian rainforest is jam-packed with incredible creatures like capybaras, giant anteaters, anacondas, poison dart frogs, cotton-top tamarins, pink river dolphins and jaguars – to name but a few.
The focus for the joint Kids for Nature project is to bring together a special group of children that will study, record, track and measure their ecological community, and over time become equipped with the knowledge and understanding to become dedicated wildlife protectors.
“We know that children have the power to bring about positive change in their families, which in turn influences their communities,” said Gavin Cox, founder of HAPPi, which launched as the first mass-market oat m!lk chocolate brand in the UK in 2021.
“There’s been a mass exodus of young people from rural areas in Colombia moving to the city and this project aims to encourage them to stay and make farming a viable option for their future. We want to help protect the Colombian rainforest as well as the future of farming in rural communities. This project will help to establish future ecological ambassadors in the communities we buy our chocolate from, ensuring a strong future for cacao farmers,” he said.
