A rural women’s group is currently marketing its latest product—local Saint Lucian chocolate bars.

The ten-member coterie from Micoud is part of a larger body called the Saint Lucia Network of Rural Women Producers. The team produces local confectioneries, juices, and snacks.

Avelina Augustin, president of the Micoud cluster of the network, said an informal group was first formed in 2003, and achieved formal status when it was registered in 2010.

“The Micoud cluster has about 10 farmers,” Ms. Augustin said. “Most of the farmers are also doing the agro-processing. Some of the products are ice cream, bay leaf powder, juices, mixed chips, jams, jellies, preserves, and our newest product is chocolate.”

The team was introduced to chocolate-making through the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

“Through IICA we received training via our counterparts in Trinidad. A consultant trained six members late last year between September and October, and from there we started our chocolate initiative. We manufacture 60 percent, 70 percent and 80 percent dark chocolate. We purchase the cocoa only from the Micoud area, which is why the chocolate is named Micoud. If we go outside of the Micoud area, the taste of the cocoa would vary and would cause the taste of the chocolate to vary; so we decided to use cocoa within the Micoud belt to keep a consistent flavor.”

Currently the chocolate is sold via local business places, with the team hoping to increase production as soon as it receives government approval to inhabit a processing plant at Angier.

“The Nobletree Coffee Shop at Pointe Seraphine is one of the local businesses that sells our products. Persons who have purchased are coming back for more. The chocolate bars are not mass produced since we don’t have the facility, but we are in production. Because we don’t have the processing plant, we are not HACCP certified, so the members cannot penetrate the supermarkets, but before year-end we are hoping to inhabit the plant at Angier,” Ms. Augustin said.

On the heels of its chocolate bars is another chocolate product—a line of chocolate teas— which will be soon be available for purchase.