Awajún

Nestled deep within the vast rainforests of Northern Peru’s Amazona region dwell the indigenous Awajun communities.

Amongst an untarnished area of the Amazon, they use long-standing traditional farming practices to produce some of the world’s finest organic cacao - both Criollo and Trinitario varieties.

As a society with a symbiotic relationship with the surrounding rainforest, the Awajun and Huambisa have long held a structure of men as hunter-gatherers, and women farming and nurturing the community. There has been a shift in importance in recent years, however, as farming cacao has proven to be even more financially beneficial than hunting and fishing. An increase in government funding for research around post-harvesting practices has only increased the quality of this industry for the region, leading to better infrastructure, education, housing, health care and more. This has led to a sharp rise in equality for the women of these tribes, who now play a major role in the economic well-being of their communities.