Happy Birthday, Kemito Ene!

Kemito Ene, the association of Ashaninka cacao producers of the Ene river, celebrates its first birthday on the 9th of December. This association was created as part of the joint project "Protecting Rainforest in the Selva Central Region of Peru", run by the Central Asháninka del Río Ene (CARE) and the Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK), under the sponsorship of Betty's and Taylor's of Harrogate. Throughout this year, the project has enabled Ashaninka families to increase their income and enhance their livelihoods in a way that is both respectful of their culture and of the environment.

Kemito Ene provides support to its members to produce a high quality organic cacao and to commercialise it under the Fair Trade certification. Through personal training and support during the whole production process, members of the association have dramatically improved the quality of their cacao. As a result, Kemito Ene now destines most of its cacao to chocolate production and the association won the first place at the II National Fair of Indigenous Cacao of Pangoa. Membership in the association also guarantees that producers will get a fair price. Thanks to these efforts, cacao has become a more secure and more significant source of income for Ashaninka families.

While largely dependent on the rainforest for their sustenance, alternative sources of income enable Ashaninka families to improve their access to health, education and other goods and services. With this kind of activities, Ashaninka communities pursue their own development strategy, thereby demonstrating that it is possible to improve their wellbeing while preserving their traditions and the rainforest.

RFUK congratulates Kemito Ene and CARE for these achievements and will continue to support their efforts!

Sustainable cacao production is one of the components of RFUK and CARE's project in Peru. As part of an integral strategy to protect Ashaninka's rights and lands, other project objectives include strengthening Ashaninka participation in the management of the Ashaninka Communal Reserve, fostering sustainable forest management practices and preventing large scale extractive projects, such as hydroelectric power plants, to invade and destroy Ashaninka territory. RFUK has been working in the region since 2002, supporting Ashaninka communities to obtain legal titles to their lands and contributing to the recognition of the Ashaninka Communal Reserve and Otishi National Park, adjacent to communal lands, as natural protected areas in 2004.