Arauca is one of the 32 administrative departments of Colombia and is part of the most prominent geographic region of the Llanos Orientales (western plains), the Orinoco River Basin, the third largest basin in South America drained by one of the most important rivers in the world, representing a valley of evolution and propagation of the Creole genetic lineage.
Arauca received its name from the Arauca River, which now separates it from Venezuela, and is a major tributary of the Orinoco River.
Its oldest plantations are 70 years old and are part of the domesticated Creole lineage. These plants are currently endangered due to the spread of new high-yield clones in the region.
Arauca has a unique biodiversity of flora and fauna and a high potential in tourism, which has always been limited by issues of violence and security.
Arauca is one of the only regions where entire families depend specifically on cocoa cultivation; hence the knowledge of cocoa is more profound. These families that are home to this region have a long tradition of producing and cultivating cocoa for several generations.
These cocoa-producing communities rely heavily on their artisanal skills to improve the different elements of the infrastructure in the production chain, such as the hand-made “Caña brava” drying beds, as well as the wooden fermentation boxes. This ancestral knowledge is passed down from generation to generation and is also highly valued by other cocoa-producing communities in the country, who consider it a high-quality craft that adds value to production.
Its proximity to Venezuela means that these communities are often divided along the basin on either side of the river into different territories. The country's border therefore means little to these populations that share cultural and agricultural knowledge and have been growing simultaneously.
