Filmmakers Dan Susman, Allison Argo and Enrico Cerasuolo, international guests at the IV edition of the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF) visited the farm of organic cocoa El Sendero del Cacao, located in San Francisco Macorís. There they had the opportunity to see up close the chocolate making process, from planting the seeds of cacao, harvesting, drying and fermentation to obtain the final product.

Before starting the walk through the grounds of 40 acres, guests were greeted with a delicious cup of organic hot chocolate. During the two-hour tour they had the opportunity to walk through the trails, to appreciate the cacao trees, as well as differentiate the seeds that are sown there.

The guests were also participants in a demonstration of the traditional methods of making chocolate. They also went to the Chocolatería La Esmeralda, where they observed the modern process of making chocolate. Each one made their own chocolate bar 55% cacao, which was given to them as a gift after a delicious lunch of dishes from the Dominican cuisine.

The production of organic cocoa in the Dominican Republic continues to grow. El Sendero del Cacaohacienda is one of the local exporters of raw materials, for making delicious sweets around the world.

“The tour was very educational, but also interactive because we planted seeds, grind them by hand and even prepared our own candy bar” expressed Allison Argo, director of Parrot Confidential.

The DREFF seeks to foster discussions on sustainable development and global environmental issues and aims to inspire the Dominican public to adopt practices that ensure environmental sustainability of the country and the world.

The Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD), organizer of the DREFF with her sister organization in the Dominican Republic, Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE), aims to raise awareness and deepen understanding of environmental problems worldwide between the Dominican public. However, with the DREFF, GFDD-FUNGLODE also further promote and celebrate the beauty and diversity of the natural heritage of the Dominican Republic, offering an insight into the attitudes and actions that ultimately contribute to their recognition, conservation and sustainable use.

For the full program please visit www.dreff.org DREFF. Join the conversation on sustainable development promoted by followingGFDDorg GFDD andMuestraCine on Twitter, using the hashtags #RDsostenible and #DREFF.