The INIAP which stands for The International Expert and Cacao Programme under the National Ecuadorian Investigative Institute has given Dominican cacao/chocolate hight praise indeed!

The Dominican Republic is one of the countries that produces high quality and fine cacao in Latin America for their geographic location said Dr.Amores of Ecuador.

He went on to say that Central American and other Caribbean countries are known for the elevated genetic variations of cacao when they are compared to African clones.

In 2006, the Dominican Republic exported 60 million dollars of cacao and most of that went unprocessed.

Word now however is that there is talk of the possibility of a local industry taking over and producing fine chocolate which in turn will greatly add value to the exported Dominican cacao and also reduce the amount of imported chocolate to this country.

Could Willy Wonka be coming to the Dominican Republic....? 

 

Easily accessible by boat from either Santa Barbara de Samana, or Sanchez, Los Haitises stretches for approximately 200 sq. kilometers along the coast (south side of the Bay of Samana), and for approximately 1000 sq. kilometers from Sabana de la Mar in the east to Sanchez in the north.

Famous for its caves depicting many Taino drawings and carvings dating back to the 16th century, the coastline is also home to red and white mangrove swamps, lagoons, cays, and reef systems that are an ideal breeding ground for a number of birds, including the brown pelican, blue heron, frigate, roseate tern, and northern jacana.

The inland areas are littered with thousands of limestone promontories or mogotes, some rising up to 300 meters in height. These buttes are covered with tropical humid forest. The area is also home to an abundance of American cedar and Dominican mahogany.