Our Commitment to the Environment
Dagoba was born out of a love for the environment and the desire to protect and restore it - along with a deep passion for exquisite chocolate.
When Founder Frederick Schilling began to dabble with chocolate, he learned that some cacao was grown on deforested lands with pesticides. He vowed to use organic, rainforest grown cacao and help build wider support for it. We're equally concerned about the environment in our own backyards and yours, so we work to operate in a way that protects our local environment while supporting ecological causes around the US and offering packaging that consumers can reuse and recycle.
Sustainable farming is essential for the survival of high quality cacao as well as our planet. Simply put - without the rainforest, there would be no Cacao. Cacao thrives best in its native state- under a lush rain forest canopy, nourished by organic materials. The shade canopy protects this delicate jeweled crop. Surrounding native plants help ward off disease, feed the soil, entice benficial insects to control cacao-nibbling pests and impart their aromas into the cacao.
In addition to buying organic, rainforest grown cacao, we're currently supporting several ecological projects in the areas we source from. We're collaborating with a farm in Costa Rica to maintain a critical wildlife corridor and replant cacao farms that were damaged through disease. Recently, we began co-funding a study on ecological health and sloth populations at the farm, and will continue to post updates. Knowing how threatened heirloom species are, we're working with producers in Ecuador to revive the country's once mighty and truly exceptional Arriba Nacional cacao varietal.
When you enjoy Dagoba, you also make more work like this possible. To learn more about the rainforest and how you can help click here.
Closer to home, we work to make a difference through simple acts in our daily lives. Check out the ecological actions we take at Dagoba, make them part of your routine and send us your own ideas! We know there's more we can do!