Namau good Samaritan friend may lead to a chocolate factory

Samisoni Pareti
Cocoa growers like Tevita Niuva harbour a deep secret that is revolutionary in form and shape.

They want to re-draw the coat of arms depicted on Fiji's national flag.

Instead of the golden lion holding fast to a cocoa pod with his two powerful claws, Niuva wants to see that single cocoa pod plucked free from the beast's hold.

"We will only do that if we produce more cocoa and the price of the product is kept enticingly high," the Tailevu cocoa grower told Fiji Business.

"With our friends in Sweden promising to lend a hand, we may just get the opportunity to see a cocoa factory open right here in Tailevu."

By the last quarter of 2007, cocoa prices were indeed lucrative at F$2 a kilogramme.

This is a far cry from the depressing years of the mid-1990s when prices dipped to as low as 60 cents a kilogramme, Niuva told the magazine.

The Swedish friends he mentioned are actually members of the Cocoa Bello Organisation, a non government group of cocoa growers and chocolate manufacturers in Scandinavia.

Their involvement in Fiji cocoa is nothing short of a miracle in many ways.

Cocoa Bello executive Fabian Rimfors was on holiday in Fiji in 2002 and happened to take a bus on the sometimes atrocious Kings Road, the main thoroughfare along the north and eastern parts of Viti Levu (Fiji's main island) that links Suva, the national capital, to the western city of Lautoka.

"Fabian saw the cocoa farms on the Wainibuka stretch of the Kings Road and on his arrival in Suva made enquiries to the status of cocoa as an industry.

"He was directed to the Ministry of Agriculture who referred him to cocoa growers here in Namau."

That referral turned the tide for Niuva and his family of cocoa growers who live on a plateau that is Namau, not far from the Lodoni valley in the district of Sawakasa in Tailevu North.

The Tailevu coast is about two kilometres to the east and from the under constructed Korovou-QVS highway, Namau is only 6 to 8 minutes drive away.

From that holiday in 2002, Fabian developed a relationship with Niuva and his group of cocoa growers at Namau when they hosted Fabian and some members of his Cocoa Bello group in early 2007.

The Swedish visitors not only toured cocoa farms in Tailevu, but also encouraged and demonstrated ways to produce chocolate bars and chocolate drinks.

Even recipes for making chocolates were imprinted on t-shirts and widely distributed.

The relationship didn't end there. In mid-September of 2007, Niuva was among a group of eight men and women flown to Sweden by Cocoa Bello for a two-week visit.

For the trip, Niuva and one other cocoa farmer at Namau took along samples of Namau chocolate.

Marketed as high quality organic chocolate, the product was a hit in Sweden. It attracted nationwide television and newspaper coverage.

A major attraction was the Namau chocolate wrappings; chocolate bars wrapped in tapa (made from the bark of the mulberry tree) strips and stored in gift pandana baskets.

"That was my mother's idea, and she weaved the gift baskets herself," said Niuva.

"We also took along three ripe cocoa pods and vanilla samples that we grow here in Namau."

As a full-time cocoa farmer, Niuva felt blessed that he took the Swedish trip.

To say what he saw was an eye opener would be an understatement.

"We attended a seminar at the Swedish University of Agriculture for a couple of days and I can't get over the way science has made it possible for Sweden to produce countless number of by-products of cocoa.

"The list is almost endless and we were inspired to work harder and see cocoa as a vibrant and thriving growth sector."

Before the Swedish trip, Niuva assisted by his wife and children had been working very hard-prunning their almost 10,000 cocoa trees, harvesting them every six months, splitting the pods open to dry the cocoa beans, roasting and peeling them, before the beans are finally grinded by hand.

The latter process can be the most difficult as the grinding of cocoa beans can take at least eight hours before they turn into liquid form.

From here, the liquefied cocoa is poured into stainless steel pans and baked to harden into chocolate bars.

Before they are wrapped with tapa, Namau chocolate bars are first covered with foil.

Some are sold in their miniature gift pandana baskets while others come in tapa pouches.

Explains Niuva: "Namau chocolates are of course in their infancy stages. But it was impressed upon us by our Swedish counterparts, that our edge would be that our chocolate is organic.

"This was not so hard a transition because we have never used fertilisers on our cocoa trees. One thing I learnt from our recent trip to Sweden is, apart from the packaging, we also need to work on getting our unique chocolate taste. This will also be what keeps us apart from the rest and it is something I think we have almost achieved."

For flavours, Niuva and his family are experimenting with vanilla or cinnamon.

It was raining by the bucket-full on the day we called on Niuva and his family at their Namau farm, exactly the kind of day to have a cup of hot chocolate. I had several and the rain gave the best excuse.

For Niuva, such a day gives him added reasons to remain indoors and work his hand-held grinder.

He said Cocoa Bello is interested in building a chocolate factory in the province, but Niuva is not wishing for any miracles to make it happen.

"If the factory idea does come true or not, it won't affect my plans to continue to plant and maintain my cocoa farm. I'm not going to wait by the roadside for miracles to happen or for government to give me hand-outs.

"I hate hand-outs. I believe farmers should just work hard."

At least Niuva needs no telling of the formula that will ensure the cocoa pod on the grasp of the mighty lion depicted on Fiji's national flag is freed.