Hazelnut Dragées, Virunga 55
Regular price £16.50Our whole roasted hazelnuts are crystallised in sugar and sea salt, then coated in our single-origin dark milk chocolate from Virunga, a national park in Eastern Congo. This chocolate is grown and harvested only by the women of Virunga.
We source this cocoa from Original Beans, who founded the world’s first women cacao cooperative, Femmes de Virunga, in November 2016. The Virunga National Park is one of the most stunning and naturally abundant regions in the world. However, its home in the Eastern Congo has endured centuries of war, poverty, famine and exploitation. Sadly, it is one of the most brutal places to be born a woman. An Original Beans initiative supports the women of Virunga to become local leaders in the cocoa renaissance. In addition to founding the world’s first female cocoa-cooperative, more than a quarter of a million cocoa trees and 40,000 shade trees have been planted. Proof that beauty can emerge from the darkness.
Purchasing this product empowers the Femmes de Virunga through literacy courses, leadership trainings, a women-directed local radio programme and a variety of entrepreneurial activities.
