The Sueños Story
‘Sueños’ (‘dreams’) is the name of Yamile Roldan’s farm in Puerto Quito, Ecuador. The dream realized at Finca Sueños, and by all of the farmers of the Asociación Nueva Esperanza organic cooperative, is to conserve through cultivation rare heirloom ‘Nacional’ cacao varieties that are native to Ecuador and have been grown and enjoyed there for thousands of years. Nacional varieties are low-yielding and comprise only ~5% of Ecuador’s current cacao crop (and even less globally), but are world-renowned for their exceptional aromas and flavors, and lack of bitterness.
Sueños entrance and welcome sign
Sueños front garden, house and cacao workshop
Mature 'Nacional' variety cacao pods growing at Finca Sueños that are ready for harvest
I first visited Sueños in 2006 when I was honored with an Arnold fellowship to pursue a Certificate in International Agriculture while an undergraduate student at the University of Georgia. For four weeks, I lived at Sueños with Yamile and several other students. We worked on the farm, met with other local organic cacao farmers, and attended community meetings at the Nueva Esperanza Cooperative. I heard and saw the difficulties that small, independent producers face when trying to access export markets. And I saw how few farmers received fair compensation for the incredible cacao they were cultivating.
Fast forward to 2019: In the intervening 13 years since living at Sueños, I earned a PhD and completed postdoctoral work. Over this time period, I had kept in touch with Yamile, and had tried to find restaurants and stores that would be interested in buying her cacao. Eventually, I realized that consistent buyer should be me! I incorporated a business, and with a leap of faith our collaborative project to connect small, independent organic producers growing heirloom cacao varieties in Ecuador to consumers in the United States was launched in March 2020.
A 'Nacional' cacao tree growing under the shade of hardwood overstory trees at Finca Sueños
This covered bridge connects the house and kitchen garden to the cacao cultivation area
Yamile Roldan shaping Sueños cacao into bars using traditional wooden molds
100% pure Heirloom Nacional cacao in 200g bars
There is no mechanization anywhere in the cacao cultivation process. All pods are harvested by hand and opened individually with machetes
'Lobster claw' Heliconia plants in the Sueños garden
Beans for nibs are roasted by hand in small batches over clay pots
Cacao bean grinder. After beans are roasted, they are ground into a paste with this machine
Yamile Roldan shaping heirloom 'Nacional' Sueños cacao into bars using traditional wooden molds
Yamile Roldan and I shaping 100% 'Nacional' heirloom cacao using traditional wooden molds
Cacao tasting! Fresh beans in sweet pulp and cacao liquor
Three pods in a row! 'Nacional' pods that will soon be ready to be harvested at Sueños
A ripe 'Nacional' variety pod ready for harvest