CABRUCA, Cooperativa de Produtores Orgânicos do Sul da Bahia, was founded at the end of 2000 and is working today with 62 cooperates in the cacao region of Southern Bahia, Brazil, in the Atlantic Rainforest area. Small and medium sized farms, together with a land reform settlement are the main components of the cooperative. CABRUCA farmers join a total farm area of over 4.000 hectares, with 3000 hectares in agroforestry systems. All members reserve the required area of 20% as forest reserve, and three members have recognized private reserves of natural patrimony, totalling over 1000 hectares of Atlantic Rainforest. Counting family members, employees, service staff and contract workers the CABRUCA community includes more than one thousand persons.

The cooperative’s mission is the fomentation of sustainable agriculture on it’s associates properties. Thus, CABRUCA acts based on the following objectives:

• - Conservation of the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil;
• - Diversification of agriculture in sustainable agroforestry systems (cacao, palm trees, tropical fruit trees, rubber, etc.);
• - Controled and certified organic agriculture;
• - Agregation of value to farm production by processing raw products (preserved heart of palm, dried fruits, cacao products, cacao wine, jams and sweets, etc.);
• - Organic products for the local marketplace (fruits, vegetables etc.);
• - Cooperative approach: transparent business.
• 
  

All of CABRUCA farmers and products are certified organic by Instituto Biodinâmico (IBD, www.ibd.com.br). Regular and annual control visits and internal control according to the specifications and requirements of the european and north american rules and regulations guarantee certification valid for internal and external business.