Why We Exist
Puerto Rico's mountains once supplied the world with coffee, cacao and vanilla. Decades of decline and then Hurricane Maria left farms abandoned, genetics at risk, and farmers with few ways to reach a fair market.
The land and the knowledge are still here. Fundación Areito is a proposal to protect and rebuild them.
Our Four ProgramsPlanned
Training, research and quality standards across coffee, cacao, honey and vanilla — one program to raise the value of what the island grows and the income of the farmers who grow it.
Preserving and propagating heritage cacao genetics, so the island's living plant history is not lost.
Tissue-culture and nursery propagation of healthy planting stock for farmers rebuilding their land.
Supporting beekeepers, queen breeding and pollinator health in the Cordillera Central.
How It Fits Together
Three organizations, one goal: keep the value of Puerto Rican agriculture on the island.
The foundation will fund infrastructure and programs. It will not sell product.
A planned farmer-owned processor will turn the harvest into export-ready coffee, cacao and honey.
The distribution company that will carry that harvest to market and report the price paid to farmers.
Where We Are
Get Involved
Farmers, agronomists, funders, chefs and buyers who share this mission are welcome to reach out. Tell us how you would like to help.