The only remaining natural cocoa forest in the central Cibao Valley in the Dominican Republic is almost 120 years old and has always been in the same family. Not without its challenges: the forest has survived expropriation during the Trujillo dictatorship, the massive global cocoa price crash of the 1980s, deforestation and water scarcity, and today faces extended periods of drought due to a changing climate.

Finca Tierra Negra now serves as a model farm. Thirty hectares promote agroecological practices that restore soils, protect water, increase biodiversity, and turn cocoa trees into a viable income.

Altair Rodríguez, the great-granddaughter of the cocoa farm’s founder, is giving everything to restore her home country’s ecology and transform its economy. DoGoodFilms produced this video on assignment with the International Trade Centre (www.intracen.org).