Acknowledgments
Best Cacao Producer in VRAEM
Plácida Chávez, the promise of cacao
The name of Plácida Chávez Salinas’ coffee plantation—Porvenir, which means “Future” in Spanish—says a lot about what she wants out of life. At 45 years old, she is now convinced that her future is brighter than ever thanks to cacao. Full of projects and dreams, this tireless woman works hard each day to improve her production.
She was born in Vilcabamba, one of the fifteen districts comprising the province of La Convención, in Cusco. When she was a teenager, her parents moved to Echarate, where they found peace after terrorism forced the family to seek out a place where the Shining Path was less present.
The fertile soil of Echarate led her parents to sow cacao. Many years later, still living in the same area, Plácida can now say with satisfaction that her work in the fields has allowed her to provide her two sons with a better life. “We’ve given them an education, which is the most important thing. The oldest, who is twenty, is studying systems. The youngest is seventeen and will be starting his studies soon.”
Plácida and her husband, Oseas Cuchillo Paulo, run Porvenir together. Work on the plantation knows no schedule; they often start early in the morning and spend all day taking care of their crops. She is especially proud of the Chuncho varietal she grows on her three hectares of land. She feels content with the things she learned in 2024 at the Cacao and Chocolate Salon in Lima. At the event, Plácida discovered a world of opportunities that have led her to consider offering alternative cacao-based products.
Currently, she delivers her cacao with the fruit pulp intact, in quantities of 20 to 25 quintals, to the Alto Urubamba Farming Cooperative, which handles the processing and sale of the cacao. Plácida dreams of making her own chocolate for export. She is fully confident in the quality of her cacao, and hopes to take the next step toward reaching one of the goals she and Oseas have set for themselves. She acknowledges the crucial support she has received from the district municipality, the cooperative, and a number of other organizations that have helped her learn about her product, which is now used even in cosmetics.
“We can’t fall behind. We have to keep moving forward. That’s why I like to learn,” says the cacao farmer, who named her property in 2008. Porvenir only began to bear fruit, however, in 2015. Ever since then, she has planned her future fortunes around her “blessed cacao.”
