Banyan Alliance
In response to the many challenges and imbalances seen in the cocoa industry, such as the lack of transparency, child labour, the precariousness of farmers and the environmental impact, OneAction has partnered with Swiss master chocolatier Marc-André Cartier to create Banyan Alliance, a sister company that produces and markets premium chocolate by promoting an innovative business model.
Location
Topics
Beneficiaries
Direct
30 farmers from the Province of Los Ríos in Ecuador
Indirect
The entire value chain involved in the production of Banyan Alliance chocolates
Impact
+40% more income for farmers compared to Fair Trade premiums
30%+ of the sales price of Banyan Alliance products stays in the country of origin of the beans
Agroforestry crops to promote biodiversity
Context
Although many Fair Trade initiatives have emerged, the fate of numerous farmers remains tied to fluctuations in the price of cocoa and to the constraints imposed by large buyers in a market characterised by high concentration of power. The pressure of demand pushes producers to seek quantity over quality and to favour monocultures that are synonymous with deforestation and loss of biodiversity. Moreover, the Fair Trade premiums distributed to cooperatives are rarely enough to guarantee a sustainable financial situation for farmers, who gradually abandon cocoa.
Our partner
The Banyan Alliance story originates in the heart of the Amazon jungle in Ecuador, where the oldest evidence of cocoa consumption can be found over 5,000 years ago, and where OneAction has been running environmental projects since 2012. During a field trip, our team met small Ecuadorian cocoa farmers and planted a seed, thinking about their future, and its own: what if OneAction could both help farmers free themselves from their dependence on market conditions, and generate their own income? The idea was launched…
As they met, entrepreneurial minds from all walks of life, as well as a Swiss master chocolatier, joined the adventure around common values and a passion for chocolate: the idea germinated, and the Banyan Alliance brand was created. The name pays homage to this tree, symbolic of the values at the heart of this project: interdependence, solidarity, unity, sharing and empowerment.
The project
Banyan Alliance proposes a holistic, inclusive and environmentally friendly business model that aims to rebalance the value chain by objectively weighing the efforts of each stakeholder, thus contributing to making agriculture more attractive and sustainable.
In application of this model, certified by the Equal Profit label, each actor receives a margin proportional to its production costs. As a result, the distribution of income increases significantly for the actors at the beginning of the chain. For example, the price of a tonne of cocoa rises to more than USD 5,200, compared to USD 3,500-3,900 for premium organic and Fair Trade cocoa, and even USD 2,000 for conventional cocoa. This represents an increase of almost 40% compared to Fair Trade for the farmers, the farmers’ association and the cooperative.
Quality and environment
- Banyan Alliance selects only indigenous cocoa beans of the Nacional variety.
- All ingredients are certified organic. No additives are added.
- The cocoa comes from agroforestry crops.
A local product
- Maintain high added value in the country of origin and strengthen the local economy
- Limit intermediaries and guarantee complete transparency and traceability
- Transfer the know-how of Swiss chocolate makers
Defining the right price
- Remuneration based on national indicators, not market price
- Thanks to the Equal Profit label, the margins of each actor are proportional to their production costs.
"Let's promote a world where profits are shared fairly. More than a certification, a vote for change."
— Inès Burrus, founder of Equal Profit
Our projects
Together with its partners, OneAction develops initiatives to protect nature and empower communities. These initiatives are designed to be holistic, sustainable and locally owned. In most cases, self-financing mechanisms are included in order to create models that can be replicated in different contexts.
Humus & humans
This agroforestry project uses the extraordinary potential of oxalogen species in inhabited areas among those most affected by climate change.
From the source to the forest
OneAction works for the conservation of the Western Andean Forest in the Intag Valley, which is one of the ten most biodiverse regions in the world.
Reunited under the canopy
OneAction creates public-private partnerships in Geneva and the Lake Geneva region to increase vegetation cover in urban areas.
The wings of knowledge
In Quito, OneAction is working with the INEPE to spread its internationally recognised holistic education model, while generating new sources of self-financing.
A future of possibilities
In Bihar, OneAction promotes access to quality education for children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds.
Humus & humans
This agroforestry project uses the extraordinary potential of oxalogen species in inhabited areas among those most affected by climate change.
From the source to the forest
OneAction works for the conservation of the Western Andean Forest in the Intag Valley, which is one of the ten most biodiverse regions in the world.
Reunited under the canopy
OneAction creates public-private partnerships in Geneva and the Lake Geneva region to increase vegetation cover in urban areas.
The wings of knowledge
In Quito, OneAction is working with the INEPE to spread its internationally recognised holistic education model, while generating new sources of self-financing.
A future of possibilities
In Bihar, OneAction promotes access to quality education for children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds.
Humus & humans
This agroforestry project uses the extraordinary potential of oxalogen species in inhabited areas among those most affected by climate change.
From the source to the forest
OneAction works for the conservation of the Western Andean Forest in the Intag Valley, which is one of the ten most biodiverse regions in the world.
Reunited under the canopy
OneAction creates public-private partnerships in Geneva and the Lake Geneva region to increase vegetation cover in urban areas.
The wings of knowledge
In Quito, OneAction is working with the INEPE to spread its internationally recognised holistic education model, while generating new sources of self-financing.
A future of possibilities
In Bihar, OneAction promotes access to quality education for children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds.
Our projects
Together with its partners, OneAction develops initiatives to protect nature and empower communities. These initiatives are designed to be holistic, sustainable and locally owned. In most cases, self-financing mechanisms are included in order to create models that can be replicated in different contexts.
Humus & humans
This agroforestry project uses the extraordinary potential of oxalogen species in inhabited areas among those most affected by climate change.
From the source to the forest
OneAction works for the conservation of the Western Andean Forest in the Intag Valley, which is one of the ten most biodiverse regions in the world.
Reunited under the canopy
OneAction creates public-private partnerships in Geneva and the Lake Geneva region to increase vegetation cover in urban areas.
The wings of knowledge
In Quito, OneAction is working with the INEPE to spread its internationally recognised holistic education model, while generating new sources of self-financing.
A future of possibilities
In Bihar, OneAction promotes access to quality education for children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds.
Past projects
Here are some of OneAction’s past projects.
Madera plástica
Inspired by a successful model developed in Medellín, OneAction aims to provide a solution to the accumulation of plastic waste in affected areas by transforming it into a building material.
GreenAction
OneAction developed pedagogical gardens in several schools in French-speaking Switzerland to strengthen the connection between students and nature.
Papa china en Amazonía
OneAction supported the empowerment of Amazonian women through the sustainable production of papa china, a food tuber.
Conservation in Mondulkiri
OneAction developed economic alternatives to deforestation to protect the Seima forest and empower the Bunong minority in Mondulkiri.
Conservation in Mondulkiri
OneAction developed economic alternatives to deforestation to protect the Seima forest and empower the Bunong minority in Mondulkiri.
Papa china en Amazonía
OneAction supported the empowerment of Amazonian women through the sustainable production of papa china, a food tuber.
GreenAction
OneAction developed pedagogical gardens in several schools in French-speaking Switzerland to strengthen the connection between students and nature.
Madera plástica
Inspired by a successful model developed in Medellín, OneAction aims to provide a solution to the accumulation of plastic waste in affected areas by transforming it into a building material.
Conservation in Mondulkiri
OneAction developed economic alternatives to deforestation to protect the Seima forest and empower the Bunong minority in Mondulkiri.
Papa china en Amazonía
OneAction supported the empowerment of Amazonian women through the sustainable production of papa china, a food tuber.
GreenAction
OneAction developed pedagogical gardens in several schools in French-speaking Switzerland to strengthen the connection between students and nature.
Madera plástica
Inspired by a successful model developed in Medellín, OneAction aims to provide a solution to the accumulation of plastic waste in affected areas by transforming it into a building material.
Past projects
Here are some of OneAction’s past projects.
Madera plástica
Inspired by a successful model developed in Medellín, OneAction aims to provide a solution to the accumulation of plastic waste in affected areas by transforming it into a building material.
GreenAction
OneAction developed pedagogical gardens in several schools in French-speaking Switzerland to strengthen the connection between students and nature.
Papa china en Amazonía
OneAction supported the empowerment of Amazonian women through the sustainable production of papa china, a food tuber.
Conservation in Mondulkiri
OneAction developed economic alternatives to deforestation to protect the Seima forest and empower the Bunong minority in Mondulkiri.
Conservation in Mondulkiri
OneAction developed economic alternatives to deforestation to protect the Seima forest and empower the Bunong minority in Mondulkiri.
Papa china en Amazonía
OneAction supported the empowerment of Amazonian women through the sustainable production of papa china, a food tuber.
GreenAction
OneAction developed pedagogical gardens in several schools in French-speaking Switzerland to strengthen the connection between students and nature.
Madera plástica
Inspired by a successful model developed in Medellín, OneAction aims to provide a solution to the accumulation of plastic waste in affected areas by transforming it into a building material.
Conservation in Mondulkiri
OneAction developed economic alternatives to deforestation to protect the Seima forest and empower the Bunong minority in Mondulkiri.
Papa china en Amazonía
OneAction supported the empowerment of Amazonian women through the sustainable production of papa china, a food tuber.
GreenAction
OneAction developed pedagogical gardens in several schools in French-speaking Switzerland to strengthen the connection between students and nature.
Madera plástica
Inspired by a successful model developed in Medellín, OneAction aims to provide a solution to the accumulation of plastic waste in affected areas by transforming it into a building material.