Co Chocolat was founded in Dubai by two sisters, Iman and Luchie Suguitan. They struggled to find healthy chocolates despite their many travels. Together, with their mother who was 68 at the time and is experiencing diabetes, they traveled to the beautiful island of Mindanao, Philippines to learn more about cacao.

 

It was there that they learned how to plant, prune, and harvest from cacao trees and ferment its beans. They became friends with the local farmers, agriculturists and government workers who also opened their eyes to the realities of cacao farming. This inspired them to leave their jobs and start an agricultural social enterprise, OFW para sa Magsasaka, or OPM (Overseas Filipinos Supporting Filipino Farmers), that supports and educates cacao farmers in the Philippines.

 

Today, they have 42 impact investors from the UAE, Philippines, Singapore, Qatar, Kuwait, Great Britain, Brazil, and the USA supporting their farmers and healthy chocolate creations. Through their passion and leadership they have co-created an agricultural blueprint, community and way to support the farmers who provide the cocoa for their beautiful chocolates.

 

Join Pam as she spends some time with Iman in the beautiful cafe of their new factory that has just opened in Dubai. Iman shares the story of their journey and more about their lovely, inspiring business and delicious chocolates.

 

Learn more about Co Chocolat at https://cochocolat.com and follow them on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/co_chocolat/

 

You can also learn more about their social enterprise, OFW, here https://ofwparasamagsasaka.com

 

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Diabetes resources: https://www.diapointme.com/diabetes-wellness-resources/ 

 

Diapoint is the place for people touched by diabetes. For more information and full details of our work, visit diapointme.com where you'll also find our social media links and any resources mentioned in the episode. Subscribe to the podcast so you get notifications for all our episodes, and please share it on social media or with anyone you think could benefit from this free content.

 

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