Our Operations > Furatena Cacao
Furatena Cacao is a company created in 2014 by The Muzo Companies Colombia in order to develop social projects in the municipalities of Western Boyaca. It was born to provide a real solution to the concern of our directors about the dependence of the communities on the “guaquería” and small informal or artisanal mining, which are not recognized as a sustainable source of income. Furatena Cacao grew as an alternative for support and legal and formal resources. It helps the families of miners, especially those from the communities of Muzo and Quípama where Esmeraldas Mining Services, EMS, operates. In a very short time, it spread to the entire Western province of the department of Boyaca.
As a result, Furatena Cacao has managed to become the main promoter and exporter of cocoa in the Western province of Boyaca. It has achieved record export figures in recent years and has benefited more than a thousand families in this process. In the same way, thanks to the support of the Canadian embassy and different local institutions, the company has assisted and advised cocoa farmers in the region in order to improve the quality of cocoa beans and the productivity of their crops. As a consequence, cocoa cultivation has become an alternative income and support alter to mining, which has been a fundamental part of the cultural tradition of these municipalities.
Furatena Cacao has achieved a reach of great proportions that has allowed them to assist several associations in Western Boyaca and promote a cultural change in future generations. Therefore, it established programs in the Western region so that even children could learn these practices through the “Furatenitos” program. Its conformation started from a diagnosis made in the region with productive potential, both in families and in cocoa cultivated areas. From there, Furatena Cacao has increased its scope of assistance and socio-business advice to cocoa farmers in the region. This is the reason why in 2015 it managed to become a formal company. Since then, it has exported this rich Colombian product nationally and internationally.
