From the early days of Silva, GoGround is a valued partner. This comes as no surprise, because we share a lot of values:  transparency, fairness, sustainability, and – of course – a deep love for high quality cacao with a beautiful flavour profile.

A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to have an extensive conversation with Ellen and Luca, the founders of GoGround. Here are some of the highlights of this interview.

Ellen: Surprise, surprise: we met in India! In 2011 we were both doing an internship in Hyderabad. We happened to share a house for interns, together with other students, and that’s where it all began. We travelled a lot, discovering India together. After we graduated, me as a Business Engineer and Luca as Mathematical Engineer, we decided to settle – for the time being – in Belgium.

Luca: In Belgium I worked for a big bus and truck manufacturing company.  I still remember sitting in a meeting where the boss explained how we should become the biggest player in our market and earn highest revenue. For me, this was just too shallow. I wanted to make the world a better place, so I started to look for something with a social impact. An Italian foundation introduced me to the world of cacao, and together with them we started GoGround in Kerala. This is the short version of the story, because it took quite some time and travel to Uganda, and around India to find the perfect place.

Ellen: We are located at the foot of a hill. Uphill are the cacao farmers, downhill is the seaside with the port of Cochin from where we ship the cacao. Udumbannoor is not so humid. This is relative, because Kerala is very humid, and the climatic conditions are quite challenging. Perfect for cacao is a lot of rain during the year, but not too much at once. And a dry period that is not too hot. We sometimes envy cacao producers in a stable climate, because where we are, the monsoon can be crazy, and it can become very, very hot. This being said, Udumbannoor is a lovely village, the scenery is stunning, and the people are hospitable, they welcomed us with open arms. Life in Udumbannoor is quiet and peaceful. And like I said, we are close to the cacao farmers and the port.

Ellen: You could see cacao everywhere, intercropped with other trees. Kerala always had a market for cacao, there were always bulk cacao buyers from big chocolate companies to buy the cacao from the farmers. However, there were less cacao trees than before. The price had dropped incredibly one year, and many farmers decided to cut their cacao trees and replace it with more profitable crops.

Luca: Farmers used to sell their unsorted wet cacao to local dealers, who would then sell it to fermentation units of big chocolate companies without paying particular attention to quality. Farmers could also sell dry beans to these dealers, which would often be unfermented. Nobody ever invested in quality in those days. And that’s where we stepped in with our post-harvesting unit.

Luca: Most tangible change, where there is now a functioning fermentation unit, there was nothing, it was an empty field.

Ellen: Udumbannoor also changed. It was an Indian village just like any other, now the place is known as a kind of ‘centre of excellence’ for cacao processing.

Luca: In the beginning people were doubtful. They thought ‘Oh, just another foreigner, who will leave one day’. We stayed, and showed us that we wanted to support cacao farmers, work with them, and give them access to knowledge and training. And give them better prices for higher quality. Now people trust us, they come to us for advice.

Ellen: We make a commitment to the farmers that we buy all of their beans. In the harvest period we pass by their farms once a week, off-season maybe a little less frequent. Whatever quantity the farmer has, we take it and we pay for it. By taking over the risk of selling from the farmers, we give them financial security and a stable income. What also helped is that we create jobs for the community. For every job we hire local people. That is important for a place like Udambannoor where job opportunities are limited.

Ellen:  An ultra-low moment was when the roof of one drying area blew off. It was raining, and Luca and I just frantically tried to collect the beans from the drying tables. Neighbours came with big flashlights, because it was already dark. At that moment I thought: ‘Let’s go home!’.

Luca: I am thinking of the time we had to get a permit from the government to dispose of the juice from the fermentation. It is not very complicated, but the civil servants from this particular department just made everything difficult. It was clear that they wanted us to give them “money for tea”. We, on the other hand, didn’t want to go down this route, because we decided from the beginning that we wouldn’t pay any bribes. We must have visited this office hundreds of times, and never got the permit. Then we decided to buy a small biogas plant, developed by an organisation that was set up by the Minister of Agriculture of Kerala, and we used the fermentation juices as a fuel for this plant. Of course, the people from the Pollution Department couldn’t oppose to this solution, it came from the Minister! We got our permit, we have a good solution to dispose of the fermentation juices, and we have a small biogas plant on which our staff makes tea et cetera. Happy ending after all.

Ellen: Another big challenge was to find chocolate makers who were willing to buy our cacao at a price that was economically feasible. We are not in the game for a profit, it is a social enterprise, but we need to make ends meet. So we tried to find Indian chocolate makers, did a lot of cold calling, no positive feedback at all. It was not nice at all. And then a chocolate maker from Zurich bought a little bit, and that’s how it started.

Luca: GoGround gives us a lot of freedom. It is nice to be in charge of your own agenda, especially now that we have small children. On the other hand, if there is work to do, we have to do it, also in the weekend or when we are on holiday at the seaside.

Ellen: GoGround also gave us a whole new perspective on chocolate. It is so great to have good chocolate and appreciate its flavours. There is just no going back to bulk chocolate.

Luca: And what we really like is to be part of this wonderful bean-to-bar community of people who have values and interests similar to ours.

Ellen: I think we started this project without knowing what to expect. We learned along the way. I remember that we were trying out some drying techniques, and we would sleep on the floor of the office and wake up every two hours to check the drying beds. Thinking back, it is crazy what we did to make it work. Now it is working, and that makes me proud.

Luca: For me it is a wholeheartedly: yes, I would do it again! What we set out to do – adding value to the farmers and changing their lives for the better – is what is happening right now in Kerala.