To what extent is Green & Blacks importants to mayan community in Essay

To what extent is Green & Blacks importants to mayan community in Belize - Essay Example While Guatemala has decimated the forests and destroyed the wildlifes habitat with chemicals, Toledo has taken an organic approach. Coming back from the edge of destruction just 12 years ago, Toledo has profited by implementing environmentally and socially responsible programs that have been able to sustain and return a steady growth rate along with numerous social benefits. The Mayans in Toledo market a product that is produced by a set of strict internationally accepted guidelines under the brand name Maya Gold, marketed by Green & Blacks Organic. Justino Peck, chairman of the Toledo Cacao Growers Association (TCGA) says, "[†¦] we have all the birds and animals with us for our grandchildren to see" (as cited in Purvis, 2006). In 1993 the head of Whole Earth, Craig Sams, came to an agreement with the TCGA to grow and market organic cacao. Sams fledgling company had only recently been expelled from Togo West Africa due to political instability. Belize was open to fresh ideas after the United States Aid for International Development had abandoned the area after years of farming based on massive chemical applications. These years had left the land barren and the farmers destitute. Sams proposed organic methods and guaranteed a minimum price for the cacao, no chemical applications, and an operation that was based on Fairtrade principles. He guaranteed to purchase all of the organic cacao the TCGA could produce to be marketed under the Green and Black label. An alliance with the principles of Fairtrade, and an economy that was receptive to fresh ideas, paved the way for the future success of the TCGA, One of the basic components that would be necessary for the long term viability of Green and Blacks new product, Maya Gold, would be the accurate prediction of an increase in demand. Sams had agreed to guarantee twice the market price in anticipation of growing demand. A 1994 survey reported that 63% of the people in the United Kingdom would be willing to pay more