Cacao Elegguá is a cocoa agroforestry farm initiative that has taken root in Kenema, Sierra Leone.
The aspiration of the project is to implement best practices in cocoa plantation. The vision is to serve the local community and ultimately, to improve the reputation of cocoa farming in Sierra Leone and Africa as a whole.

My name is Des. I was born in London, England, I spent my formative years, from 4 to 19 years between Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
I have been involved with the food industry initially in my mum’s restaurant in Nigeria, and later by co-owning a restaurant in the UK. I then studied naturopathic nutrition, which was aimed at using food as medicine as said by Hippocrates “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”.

I spent one year travelling around South America and the Caribbean conducting research about cocoa and the making of chocolate. This experience reaffirmed my commitment and long term ambition to grow cocoa in Sierra Leone, where my roots are.

Photo: Joaquín Páez Rivero