Cordillera Chocolates, a B2B brand of Nutresa Group, recognized as the #1 most sustainable company in the food industry in 2021 by the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices, will stream the launch of its sustainability program, ATENEA, Women who Transcend, at a special event in Colombia on Wednesday, June 7, starting at 8:30 a.m. local time.

ATENEA, Women Who Transcend is a sustainability program, the first of its kind on this scale, that seeks to generate long-term transformation in women cocoa producers, enabling a more just, equitable, prosperous, and thriving value chain. 

The objective is to strengthen the development of capacities in entrepreneurship, female empowerment, and financial education in the context of the lives of rural cocoa women, to impact the improvement of their quality of life and that of their families. 

ATENEA consists of 3 training modules and has the support of two strategic allies: SENA (National Apprenticeship Service) and DID Development International Desjardins (DID), the Canadian Cooperative Financing Group. 

The ATENEA program will last one year, and its three  modules consist of:

Module 1: Entrepreneurship in the processing of chocolate products

This module was conceived by the SENA Emprende Rural Program, which has been carrying out training and accompaniment actions for entrepreneurship and rural employability. This course aims to strengthen competencies, knowledge, and skills in entrepreneurs, for the development of businesses derived from cocoa products. 

Module 2: Financial Education for Rural Women

This module was born as a determined and articulated commitment between Development International Desjardins (DID) and Cordillera Chocolates, with the purpose of providing business support to rural women in the country so that they identify opportunities to improve their finances and environment.

Module 3: Female Empowerment

Rural women play a decisive role in agricultural and rural development, but often face challenges and barriers such as access to education, a decent income, to opportunities for their personal, family, and professional development. This module emerges as a strategy to promote the reduction of gender inequality that is accentuated in some rural areas.

The first phase of this program will be carried out in Urabá Antioquia with 115 women belonging to six associations of cocoa producers: ASITAPUR, APROCESU, ACEFUVER, ASOCHAGUALA, CAOCARES, and ASOCACAO DE URABÁ.

Cordillera aims to develop new capacities for promoting a more equitable, diverse, prosperous, and inclusive cocoa culture.

ATENEA, Women who Transcend, is its latest long-term strategy based on the development of capacities in female cocoa growers with a strong emphasis on entrepreneurship and female leadership. 

“Developing skills for women in the Colombian cocoa sector, means more than teaching them about entrepreneurship or leadership," says Alejandra Sarasty, chief global B2B officer. It also means, impacting a family, a broader community where they interact and ultimately, the cocoa sector and the progress of our country. ATENEA reflects Cordillera´s commitment to a thriving sustainable cocoa ecosystem and it honours our purpose to enable sustainable pathways for growth and prosperity.”

The event will be attended by local and national dignitaries, representatives from local cocoa communities, international embassies, and local and international media.

About Cordillera Chocolates

Nutresa´s Chocolate Business (CNCh) and Cordillera Chocolates are signatories of the Cacao Forests Initiative, a global initiative targeting the protection and restoration of forests in the cocoa industry, incorporating sustainable intensification and diversification of cultivation through community participation, particularly in areas that have been affected by conflict.

To date, the company has carried out 127 public-private partnerships that promote the competitiveness of the cocoa sector in Colombia, benefiting 22,933 cocoa families with 38,362 hectares of cocoa in 22 departments of the country. In 2022 it propagated and delivered 4.4 million units of cocoa plant material, destined for new plantings, renovation and rehabilitation of cocoa farms. 

Nutresa´s Chocolate Business bought 33,508 tons of cocoa beans from the last harvest, which represents 54% of national production. Of this total purchased by the company, 44% was purchased directly from farmers' associations and cooperatives, demonstrating its commitment to responsible sourcing. 

Through its training program, the company has trained 6,750 producers and technicians in the different cocoa regions of the country and disseminated key information for the agronomic management of cocoa to 19,604 actors in the cocoa-chocolate chain through the free program "Mundo Cacao."

Cocoa production figures (Colombia)

According to FEDECACAO, at the end of 2022, cocoa production in Colombia was 62,158 tons, a consolidated reduction of 10% compared to 2021. Overall, production has increased over the past 10 years showing a sustained growth from 41,670 tons to 62,158 (+49.1%).

Cocoa Production Figures in Antioquia, Urabá (Area where ATENEA will be developed)

The Department of Antioquia is the third largest producer of cocoa nationwide, representing 8.3% of national production in Colombia with 5,188 tons. Nutresa’s Compañía Nacional de Chocolates purchased 2,977 tons for this Department, of which 1,185 tons correspond to Urabá Antioqueño, the region where ATENEA is to be launched. 

To find out more about Cordillera Chocolate’s sustainability initiatives, visit chocolatecordillera.com/