Haiti

PISA

A central fermentation led by women and producing naturally sweet, fruity & floral cacao that is revolutionizing the industry in Haiti.

2023 Data - Product

Quality: Ultra Premium

Flavor: Chocolate Ice cream, Sarsaparilla & Pecan Pie

Fermentations Style: Box

Drying Style: Patios, raised beds with a roof, tarps on the ground

Quality Practices: Temperature monitoring during fermentation & cut tests during fermentation

Hand Sorting: Yes

Certifications: Organic and Fair for Life

Number of awards in 2023: 6

2023 Data - Planet

Crops that are used for intercropping: Banana, plantain, palm, citrus & timber

Environmental practices: Organic certification requires environmentally responsible practices

Organic hectares cultivated: 1,493

Average percent of shade of cacao farms: 80%

Distance of producer to facility (km): 30

Distance to port (km): 17

Ocean freight CO2kgs per MT (US): 35

Ocean Freight CO2kgs per MT (EU): 113

2023 Data - People

Community-focused initiatives: Cuttings distribution & trainings in vanilla maintenance, flower inducing & pollination

Trainings conducted: Sustainability standards training

Producers purchased from: 1,104

Female producers:  533

Total # of producers trained:  818

Total # of female producers trained: 386

Full time employees: 10

Full time female employees: 3

Part time employees: 60

Part time female employees: 25

Average farm size (ha): 1.4

Average sales per producer (dry kg): 92.75

Average annual cacao revenue per producer: $202.20

Bringing an accessible and bold flavor to the cacao world isn’t the only thing Produits Des Iles SA (PISA) is doing.

Through private sector innovation, PISA partnered with farmers to give them what they really needed: pricing transparency, a consistent market, and an elimination of risk. Today, PISA still provides smallholder farmers access to the specialty cacao market by purchasing wet cacao, centrally fermenting it, and selling it at a higher price for its higher quality. PISA is poised to bring affordable organic beans to the craft chocolate market with an approachable flavor profile of classic chocolate, blueberries, caramel, and vanilla. We partner with PISA to support systems change and reduce structural inequities in Haiti, while acknowledging that the end goal for economic justice has yet to be met and will require long- term partnership across the chocolate value chain.

Download 2023 PISA Transparency Data

TERROIR

Haiti has a perfect climate and terrain for the production of cacao, and shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, which is well known for extensive organic cacao cultivation. The island has faced significant deforestation in recent decades, and the Haitian practice of growing cacao in biodiverse “Creole gardens” offers a critical opportunity to support reforestation and preservation. Cacao in Haiti is often intercropped with coconut, plantain, mango, palms, root crops, and a wide variety of other plants. Producers in PISA’s network cultivate an average of 1.1 hectares of cacao, which may be spread across multiple smaller plots in different locations.

Bringing an accessible and bold flavor to the cacao world isn’t the only thing Produits Des Iles SA (PISA) is doing.

Through private sector innovation, PISA partnered with farmers to give them what they really needed: pricing transparency, a consistent market, and an elimination of risk. Today, PISA still provides smallholder farmers access to the specialty cacao market by purchasing wet cacao, centrally fermenting it, and selling it at a higher price for its higher quality. PISA is poised to bring affordable organic beans to the craft chocolate market with an approachable flavor profile of classic chocolate, blueberries, caramel, and vanilla. We partner with PISA to support systems change and reduce structural inequities in Haiti, while acknowledging that the end goal for economic justice has yet to be met and will require long- term partnership across the chocolate value chain.

Download 2023 PISA Transparency Data

TERROIR

Haiti has a perfect climate and terrain for the production of cacao, and shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, which is well known for extensive organic cacao cultivation. The island has faced significant deforestation in recent decades, and the Haitian practice of growing cacao in biodiverse “Creole gardens” offers a critical opportunity to support reforestation and preservation. Cacao in Haiti is often intercropped with coconut, plantain, mango, palms, root crops, and a wide variety of other plants. Producers in PISA’s network cultivate an average of 1.1 hectares of cacao, which may be spread across multiple smaller plots in different locations.

Wholesale Orders

Notable Awards

2022 Academy of Chocolate Gold

Flavor Profile

Chocolate Ice Cream, Sarsaparilla & Pecan Pie

2023 PISA Farmgate price

$2.18 USD

This is the actual price paid to the cacao producer for their product (typically on a per kg or per lb basis) when they sell it to the first buyer. 

Farmgate price is often paid for "wet" or fresh cacao, recently harvested and scooped out of cracked pods for sale. Wet cacao loses 60-70% of its weight during fermentation and drying, typically reaching 7-8% humidity before it is sold. 

Uncommon calculates farmgate price for each cacao supplier based on the specific weight loss conversion percentage provided to us by the supplier, and we report farmgate price on a per kg dried equivalent basis for all cacao beans we source.

Pictured are Mina Garcon and her child.

2023 PISA Association price

$2.27 USD

This is the price the exporter pays the association for cacao.

In some cases in our supply chain there is an organized group of producers that aggregate cacao and sell it to an  exporter. 

2023 PISA FOB price

$4.20 USD

This is the price paid by Uncommon to our partners for cacao transported and loaded onto a ship for export. 

Uncommon then covers all of the costs of shipping, freight charges, insurance, import, domestic logistics, warehouse ingestion, customs and duties.

Free on board (FOB) is an international shipping term that represents the seller's responsibility for bringing the cacao over the rails of the export ship.

Ardony Montpremier and Mikennsonn Christophe move fermented cacao beans out of the boxes to go to the drying deck. Ardony, aka Pedro, has been part of the team since PISA began working in l’Acul du Nord.

2023 PISA Average sales price

$6.77 USD

This is the weighted average price per kg for cacao sold to the premium & ultra premium chocolate makers who purchased it during this year from Uncommon Cacao.

Pictured is Chiquito standing next to the drying decks at Pisa.