Javier, Magali and the children

Bouga Cacao presents Javier and his family. It was in 2011 that Javier and his wife Magali decided to settle on family land. Javier has done many small jobs in his life: taxi driver, plumber… Maggy who grew up in a farm is very happy to find peace and nature. For their three children the change was more complicated, especially for Ricardo and Rosy, 11 and 15 years old at the time. Live away from the friends and in these difficult conditions: 45 min walk to go to school on small country roads, in the mud and through the hills, plus crossing a river in canoe.But now the whole family has got used to it, it has even grown a fourth child, Raffaela, born on the farm. With the money from the last cocoa sale in Bouga, Javier was able to buy a washing machine so that Maggy no longer had to go wash the laundry at the river. She can thus participate more in the work of the farm, and in return Javier helps her to extend and store the linen… which makes the other men in the area laugh: “it’s a woman’s job”! But we reassured him, seeing in him the avant-garde rather than a «mandarina», Javier is very proud today! His next project is the installation of solar panels to replace the generator…
In short, a real modern man!

Antonio, Susana and their son

Antonio and Susana have lived on their farm for over 25 years. Antonio has a passion for cows and has a nice little herd of cows. His wife makes cheese that she sells fresh to the families of the surrounding farms as well as in the village an hour and a half walk from home. Antonio was able to observe a degradation of his land over time: the meadows without trees do not resist erosion. Despite his love for beasts, this led him to put more emphasis on growing cocoa. It has 2 hectares and produced little, the cocoa trees are very big and beautiful but difficult to maintain and harvest.With his only son who is now old enough to help his father on the farm after school, he thinks about planting cocoa on a hectare of meadow and revitalizing his old plantations. Susana, takes care of the paperwork, because since the farm is certified organic, they have to keep strict records, which is not obvious. Every activity has to be documented and sometimes her husband forgets to tell Susana what work he did! Antonio is much appreciated by other producers in the region for his spirit of solidarity, and with his wife, they are always ready for new collective projects.