This cacao is grown in Zamora-Chinchipe, southeast Ecuador, in accordance with the traditional Chakra biodiverse agriforestry system. The indigenous people intercrop cacao with a multitude of other trees and plants that all interact with each other. Cultivated bioversity. Our partner association APEOSAE consists of 180 farming families growing a selection of nacional cacao according to strictly defined harvest and post-harvest protocols. In Ecuador, the Nacional cocoa variety has been preserved by small producers for 150 years in forest ecosystems. These native cocoa trees, which were still in the majority 20 years ago, are threatened with extinction with the mass planting of a hybrid cocoa tree, the CCN51, whose yields are three times higher but whose aromatic qualities are much lower. APEOSAE is part of a program aiming to promote the transition from traditional monoculture to sustainable agroforestry systems. Thanks to the program’s monitoring it is now confirmed that the region is deforestation-free.