

Aviraza, Cacao Farmer and Teacher in Madagascar's Sambirano Valley
When you find a gem, one must seize the opportunity. Such was the case one afternoon in Ambanja, a town in the Sambirano Valley in northwestern Madagascar where some of the finest cacao beans in the world are produced.
We were visiting a cacao cooperative in the village of Antranokarany, 13 kilometers south of Ambanja. Every Thursday the farmers harvest the mature cacao pods from their one or two hectares of land. With machetes, they cut open the colorful pods and empty the