(See below for the English version.)

MAMANO started in 2013.

The characteristic of our brand isProtecting the rainforest, protecting traditional cocoa varieties, contributing to climate change mitigation, protecting the rights of smallholders, contributing to farmer development, and customer happiness and mamano members And the transparency that supports themis. These are symbolic words"Sustainability"Is called.

However, the term sustainability has many aspects.
Let's talk about what sustainability we value.

First, about the varieties of cacao.

In Mamano, it is a traditional Ecuadorian varietyAriva Cacao (Cacao Nacional)Is used for all chocolates. Alibaba cacao has the best flavor in the world, but the yield is low.

Many new varieties with high yields have been developed, such as CCN51 and Super Arbo, which do not have the wonderful flavor of Alibaba cacao. They can also be delicious chocolates.

We are not against developing new cocoa varieties to increase yields, and I agree that there are many positives for farmers.

we,Variety varietyI want to protect. If all the cocoa is replaced with the slightly less fragrant cocoa that was developed, the reputation of Ariva cocoa may be damaged.

So we have local cacao,A special cacao with great flavor and high value on the marketWe are focusing on saving as.

thisBuy special cacao higherTake, and thatFarmers who harvest cocoa motivate them to continue harvesting their cocoaThat is one of our goals.

The second is about biodiversity and deforestation.

We use cocoa in the rainforests of Ecuador, but their farms are like fruits, forage crops, trees, herbs, and cash crops such as cocoa, gayusa, and bananas.Forest gardenIt is rich in variety.

Ecuadorian Indigenous People KitchuwaIn words"Chakra"The farming method called is a combination of forest, life, ritual and economy. It's a little different from agroforestry, but it has some similarities.

In chakra farmingNo pesticides or chemical fertilizers used.. Because the rich environment with chakras is full of natural fertilizers.

Once you use a chemically synthesized substance, you will not be able to obtain organic certification for a while. Insects, fungi, and plants die even if they are invisible.

Farming in the woods is very important to the planet, as the soil, rivers and sea are all connected.

A monoculture that uses chemical fertilizers and pesticides on the farm and harvests only cocoa is efficient for producing many cocoa. I have no intention of denying such farming methods. There are various backgrounds to the reasons for choosing farming, such as soil conditions, politics, and weather, so it cannot be generalized.

I would like to emphasize that the areas we are connected to are"Chakra = Forest Garden"Because it is an area where we have practicedYou can choose to keep this practice in the future or turn it into a monoculture for short-term efficiency.about it.

And we want them"Chakra = Forest Garden"I would like to sustainably support the ideal way of doing things.

To start a cacao monoculture plantationNeed to cut down many trees from the rainforestThere is, which leads to deforestation.

Humans, animals, insects and plants all need abundant rainforests to survive on earth, and the rainforests of Ecuador are one of the most important forests on earth.

We want to protect it.

The third is about climate change.

To mitigate climate change"Chakra = Forest Garden = Traditional Agroforestry"Has two sides.

First, as mentioned earlier, you don't have to cut trees to harvest cocoa in the rainforest.Maintaining a forest that absorbs carbon dioxide in the atmosphereThat you can.

Second, the chakra system is compared to monocultureLarge amount of carbon adsorbed per haabout it.

In addition, smallholders are one of the most vulnerable to climate change.

This rapid climate change has a more direct impact on them than we do, as they are heavily dependent on the natural environment.

Therefore, I think that we should not cut the forest easily, and I hope that more farmers will introduce the agroforestry system such as the chakra system. and,Many people support the farmerI hope you will.

Fourth, the benefits for those who like chocolate.

Contribution to the forest environment and indigenous farmers (or choosing such chocolate)Chocolate lovers who want to taste chocolate with a unique and rich flavorFor me, it's one way to enjoy chocolate purely without worrying too much about the bad side of cocoa.

The natural environment is wine terroirGrowing cacao in a rich natural environment opens up possibilities as a chocolate luxury item, as it affects the flavor of cacao.

Fifth is about "transparency".

Everything I've said so far seems like a good thing. I think so too. But to be a truly socially good companytransparencyIs important.

There, we work with a local organization, the WINAK Union, which works with about 260 Kituwa farmers to help them live better, maintain traditions and protect the environment.

we,In terms of price, they also value and price their cocoa the most (compared to their other customers).doing. At the same time, fair price and fair trade are one aspect of sustainability, and we do not consider them to be social good.

we,Internet installed at Post Harvest CenterWe also donate so that we can connect them directly with our customers.

We mainly hold events related to cacao and chakra systems to directly convey knowledge and reality to our customers.

I would like to connect many people and groups with similar visions, aiming for a sustainable world.

The sixth is about balance.

We are not an extremely radical type of company. For example, do you think all packages should be of natural origin? We hope we can do that too.

I've been looking for natural packaging for a long time, but frankly, I haven't found a material that suits us so far.

What would happen if all the packages were changed to paper? Until Valentine's Day, Mamano members will have to work quite hard. This is because the expiration date is shortened. You may know the sad news about employees of a busy chocolate company.

we,Gradually reduce the plastic materialis. We will continue to reduce as much as possible so that the satisfaction of Mamano members and the satisfaction of our customers can be balanced.

This is our policy. Some of our customers want us to be more environmentally friendly, and we have this policy.

To our readers

We want to connect more with people and groups who share the same passion and vision for the future.

we,Not only a chocolate shop, but also a chocolate maker for professionals such as chocolate shops and bakery shops, a company that imports cacao and some Amazon ingredients to Japan and Asia.But there is also.

If you would like to collaborate or taste our products, please contact us. I hope many people will walk with us.

Kotaro Ezawa

MAMANO CHOCOLATE representatives

＜English version＞

Why do we have a passion for MAMANO’s journey?

We started MAMANO in 2013. Our features of the brand are saving the rainforest, saving the local plant varieties, contributing to mitigating climate change, saving the rights of small farmers, contributing to the development of the farmers, and transparency, with our customer's happiness and worker's satisfaction in balance. These are called "sustainability" in one symbolic word.

However the word sustainability has many aspects.
Let me explain what kind of sustainability we have focused on.

Firstly, about a variety of cacao.

We have used only Arriba Cacao(Cacao Nacional) which is a local species in Ecuador and has one of the most wonderful flavors in the world, though is low yielding.

There have been invented many types of new cacao varieties such as CCN51 and Super Arbo which have good yield though don't have a fantastic flavor as Arriba Cacao.

I want to say we are not against inventing new cacao varieties for good yieldings. I agree with there are many good aspects for farmers.

We want to save the diversity of the varieties.

If all cacao is alternated with the invented cacao, the fame of Arriba Cacao will be declined. So we put our position into saving the local cacao variety as special cacao with fantastic flavor and having a high value in the market.

One of our purposes is to buy the local special cacao with a higher valuation, directly saying, to pay more for the farmers which harvest the cacao for their motivation to keep harvesting the variety.

Secondly, about Biodiversity and Deforestation.

We have used cacao in the rainforest of Ecuador, their farms are diverse in fruits, crops for feed, trees, medicinal plants, and cash crops like cacao, guayusa, and banana in the forest garden.

The farming way is called "chakra" in the Kichwa indigenous language of Ecuador, is combined with forest, life, ritual, and economics.

It's a little bit different from "agroforestry", though it has similarities.

Chakra farming way doesn't use any pesticides and chemical fertilizers because there are many natural fertilizers in chakra, rich environments. If you once used any chemical compounds, you don't get the certification of organic for some duration. Also, insects, fungi, and plants will die even though you can't see them. Soil, river, and sea are all connected so the farming way in the forest is very important for the earth.

Monoculture which only harvests cacao with chemical fertilizer and pesticide on the farm is efficient for producing a much quantity of cacao. Let me be clear, I don't intend to deny this type of farming.

There is a lot of context behind the choice of the farming way such as the condition of soil, politics, weather conditions, and so on. I want to emphasize the region we are connected to that has been practiced "chakra = forest garden" so that they have a choice to maintain this way for the future or to change it to a monoculture for efficiency in the short term. We want to support the way of "chakra = forest garden" as they want to sustain.

To start the monoculture farm of cacao, you need to chop down many trees from the rainforest which would lead to deforestation. All humans, animals, insects, and plants need the rich rainforest for living on the earth, and the rainforest in Ecuador is one of the most important forests on the earth. We want to save it.

Thirdly, about Climate change.

There are 2 aspects of "chakra = forest garden = traditional agroforestry" for mitigating climate change.

1st, as I mentioned above, they don't need to cut down the trees to harvest the cacao in the rainforest so that there would be a forest to absorb the CO2 in the atmosphere.
2nd, the chakra system is to contribute to carbon absorption compared to monoculture.

Furthermore, small farmers are one of the most vulnerable people to the climate change effect. They are highly dependent on the natural environment so this rapid change in the climate would affect them directly more than us. So I believe we shouldn't cut the forest easily and I hope farmers would adopt the chakra system or some other agroforestry system. I also hope a lot of people would support these farmers.

Fourthly, about the advantage of chocolate lovers.

Contributing to the forest environment and indigenous farmers (or selecting that kind of chocolate) is one way for chocolate lovers who want to taste unique, richly flavored chocolate to genuinely enjoy chocolate without worrying too much about the bad aspects of cocoa.

The natural environment is affected by the taste of cacao like wine's terroir.

Fifthly, about the Transparency.

Those look everything good, right?

I think so too. In order to be a really socially good company, transparency is important so we have directly worked with the local association WINAK which is an indigenous organization that works for their good life, maintaining tradition and saving the environment with the cooperation of around 260 Kichwa farmers.

We value and price their cacao the highest (compared to their other customers) in terms of price. At the same time, fair price and fair trade are one aspect of sustainability, and we do not consider them to be social good in isolation.

We have donated to them to set up the internet in the post-harvest center to connect directly between us including our customers. Mainly events about cacao and chakra system have been held to impart knowledge and reality to the customers directly.

We want to connect many people and organizations which have similar visions and passion for a sustainable world.

Sixthly, about the balance.

We are not the type of extreme radical company.
For example, do you think we should change all the packages to being made of natural sources? Yes, we hope so too. I have been searching for a naturally sourced package for our chocolate, but I couldn't find the material for now to suit us. What would happen if all packaging were converted to paper?

Mamano members will have to work very hard until Valentine's Day. That’s because the expired date is shorter if we pack the chocolate by paper. You may have heard the sad news about the employees of a chocolate company during the busy season.

We have reduced the plastic material gradually and would reduce as possible as we can find a balanced way of worker's satisfaction and customer satisfaction as well. This is our policy. We are sorry some customers want us to be more good for the environment, but we have this
kind of policy.

For readers.

We want to connect more people and organizations which have the same passion and vision for the future. We are not just a chocolate shop but also a chocolate maker for professionals such as a chocolate shop, bakery shop, and so on, and cacao and some amazonian ingredients importer in Asia.

Please contact us to collaborate with and taste our products.
Thank you for reading this article. These are the reasons that we have the passion to work for MAMANO. We hope many of you will walk with us.

Kotaro Ezawa
CEO of MAMANO CHOCOLATE