Marie Michael Library

Venture capitalism for a tropical forest: Cocoa in the Mata Atlantica

Bright, Chris; Sarin, Radhika

The Brazilian Atlantic Forest is one of the world's biological "hotspots," with extraordinary biodiversity. Cocoa is a major crop in the state of Bahia, Brazil, where most is grown in an agroforestry system called cabruca. Revival of the cabruca system would promote forest restoration, rural economic development, and an international consumer constituency for the endangered forest.