Looking Back: Breaking Ground in Cameroon, Africa

Moka Origins co-founders Ishan Tigunait and Jeff Abella planted Moka Farms in 2015 after working with the Himalayan Institute Cameroon (a Not For Profit Organization) for over a decade to spearhead health and educational initiatives in West Africa. Our farmland was a collective gift from the Cameroonian government and the Region’s tribal kings and became the genesis of our commitment to cultivating and hand-sourcing high-quality cacao and coffee while growing food crops for the local market.

“Our goal in establishing our own farms and partnering with farmers is to generate sustainable employment. We chose bean-to-bar chocolate and specialty coffee as our vehicle to do this.” — Jeff Abella

Aerial overhead drone image of the farmland plot.

Aerial side view of food crop rows.

We plant our plantain and cacao trees in a grid.

Regional king shows his support of the mission.

Local traditional chiefs eager to welcome the project.

Nestled deep in the mountainous Northwest Region of Cameroon, our cacao, plantain, and food crop Farm is a paradise on earth. The valley, tucked between the great peaks of the mountains, produces a climate perfect for both coffee and cacao.

The farm is located in the Mbo plains and surrounded by mountains.

Cacao trees are grown in this valley, however there is a lot of room to improve the growing practices.

Coffee cherries are hand picked in Cameroon, ensuring on ripe beans are selected.

Starting From Scratch

Our initial venture onto this land required lots of creative problem solving! The secluded location is cut off from running water, electricity, and paved roads, making it essential to invest in infrastructure-related utilities before anything else. Access roads are poor or nonexistent, and the mountainous terrain can be very dangerous, particularly during monsoon season.

Because we aim to create jobs and not become dependent on mechanization, we made this effort by hand, a rare undertaking in the majority of today’s agricultural community. This process is slower, but from our vantage point, the results — employment, community growth, and the a greater sense of communal self worth — were all worth the cost.

The community was eager to start planting.

Rainwater management is an essential, ongoing part of creating a healthy farm.

A competent team of farm staff, agriculturalists, and agronomists formed.

We continued down this road by creating infrastructure essential for sustainable farm operations: a staff camp, solar electric system, tree nursery, well, river irrigation system, and an internal road network. In addition to promoting cash crops like cacao and plantain, one of our farm’s primary objectives is to create food self-sufficiency for our local community. This dovetails with the local farmers’ main goal of increasing their crop yields to earn a better livelihood.

A Better Livelihood

From seed to soil, root to plant, our hope is to tend this land in ways that create economic prosperity and the burgeoning of greater life cycles for its future. This project is not about controlling an economy or the absolute greatest profit from our land’s products: it is about creating a living thing-that which grows and is ever-changing-that can be independently sustained long into the future after we’re gone. This intention guides all we do; it gives us hope, momentum, and promise for the future.