FROM THE BEGINNINGS UNTIL TODAY
FAIR, ECOLOGICAL, HIGHEST QUALITY
FROM A AID PROJECT IN PERU TO RAINFOREST PROTECTION WITH GOURMET PRODUCTS
Since 2000, Arno Wielgoss and the NGO “Frederic – Help for Peru”, founded by his family, have been working intensively with small farmers in the Urubamba Valley. Educational, social and ecological projects are developed together.
Over the past more than 20 years, this aid project has developed not only into a trusting cooperation, but also into a successful business history that makes the farmers increasingly independent of donations and ensures prosperity and thus the possibility of leading a self-determined life in the region.
PERÚ PURO, founded by Dr. Frauke Fischer and Dr. Arno Wielgoss, now also works directly with other smallholder cooperatives in other regions of Peru.
2000
After a hard stroke of fate, the Wielgoss family founds the non-profit NGO “Frederic – Hilfe für Peru” (Frederic – Help for Peru) in memory of their son and brother Frederic who died in Peru.
To this day, the association supports small farmers in the Urubamba Valley with a variety of social and ecological projects.
In the meantime, our association has grown far beyond its founding location of Nüdlingen with over 100 permanent members. With a great deal of voluntary commitment, we are able to provide effective, transparent and unbureaucratic help for self-help with almost no administrative costs.
We spend several months each year on site in Peru at our own expense and coordinate numerous projects together with our partners there.
In Germany, we regularly organize picture lectures, information events at schools and public institutions, and flea markets. These events make it possible to make our association better known and to collect donations for the relief work.
www.frederic-hfp.de
2006
On the initiative of the association “Frederic – Help for Peru”, several groups of ecologically interested small farmers are founded in the Urubamba Valley. These join together to form the Asociación de Agricultores Ecológicos Medio Urubamba – a small organic farmers association.
More and more farmers are becoming enthusiastic about the idea of sustainable, rainforest-friendly agriculture. The annual educational trips, expert visits and farmer congresses attract more and more people.
The basic idea of the association is to strengthen learning from each other and to bring people in Peru into conversation with each other.
2011
The “inner circle” of the organic smallholders wants to be certified organic and founds the Asociación de Productores Ecológicos de Cacao – Medio Urubamba (APECMU) for this purpose. The first farmers’ association in the entire province of La Convención, which enshrined organic farming as a firm principle in its founding charter.
To date, APECMU is PERÚ PURO’s exclusive supplier of chuncho cocoa beans. APECMU has over 50 members and is known nationwide for its excellence and exemplary organic agriculture and rainforest conservation projects.
2012
The association “Frederic – Help for Peru” finances the organic certification of the cocoa. However, the hoped-for economic success fails to materialize because the middlemen in the Urubamba Valley are not willing to pay a fair price for the certified cocoa. Because they have no other market access, farmers must continue to sell their cocoa at unfair prices.
Organic certification of cocoa and other tropical products is merely an offer to the market, but does not imply any guarantee of purchase. This has been a major challenge not only for our small farmers and, in addition to the high costs, often prevents certification or establishment in the market.
2013
Frauke and Arno get to know each other during their scientific work at the University of Würzburg and quickly decide that the great project in Peru must not fail because nobody wants to pay the small farmers a fair price for the unique cocoa. What can you do if you can’t find a buyer willing to pay fair prices? You just start a company yourself!
Already in the fall of 2013, PERÚ PURO imported 500kg of smallholder cocoa on a trial basis and brought it to Germany.
At first, Arno and Frauke are disillusioned, as the processing and distribution of the cocoa proves to be more difficult than expected.
But giving up is not an option!
2015
Spurred on by the now successfully implemented idea of building the PERÚ PURO brand and the first successes in getting the cocoa into stores, Frauke and Arno take the next step. PERÚ PURO becomes a limited liability company and thus a real enterprise.
After two instructive and insightful years, things are moving forward at PERÚ PURO. With cocoa beans, nibs and cocoa shell tea, the first products hit the stores.
2017
Thanks to the great support of 621 fans, the crowdfunding campaign “Schokoheld werden” (Become a chocohero) has raised the incredible amount of €51,151.
This money will allow PERÚ PURO to produce the first CHUNCHO GOLD Grand Cru chocolate (70%) and to prefinance the next cacao harvest.
Our crowdfunding campaign was a real adventure, knowing that we needed to raise at least €25,000 in five weeks to produce our first chocolate. Because the chocolate was supposed to be under the Christmas tree, time had to be allowed for production and shipping, and the campaign duration was supposed to be five weeks, we had to advertise our idea in mid-August. We were not the only ones who thought that this would not work, but also all the crowdfunding espert:iners. Think again! In the end, we had more money than necessary for the first year’s production, could import new cocoa and immediately plan the second round of chocolate production.
2018
With the CHUNCHO GOLD Grand Cru – and still using part of the funds from our crowdfunding campaign – comes the second vintage, vintage, variety chocolate on the market with the 52% dark whole milk. From the CHUNCHO GOLD Grand Cru 70% there is the second vintage.
Both varieties win medals in the WOLRD FINAL of the International Chocolate Awards
2020
We start our design relaunch.
Through the animal pictures drawn especially for us by the Peruvian artist Willian Mamani Loyaza from Cusco and wrapped in the noble handmade paper from Gmund am Tegernsee, our vintage, layer, variety chocolates are given a new, elegant look.
At the same time, our chocolate family continues to grow. With CHUNCHO GOLD Grand Cru 85%, we are launching a very dark vintage, site, variety chocolate.
In 2020, we will also be nominated for the German Sustainability Award in the category of small and medium-sized enterprises.
The jury particularly emphasized our cooperation at eye level with small farmers in Peru.
2021
We start with coffee.
On our Peru trip in 2020, we will get to know the Chaco Huayanay coffee farmers’ cooperative. Because these smallholders are as enthusiastic about high-quality coffee and rainforest protection as we are, we quickly get down to business. As early as 2021, we will import coffee for the first time from the 17 smallholder families who grow their exceptionally good coffee exclusively for PERÚ PURO in their diverse agroforestry systems at over 1,800 meters above sea level.
2022
Brazil nuts firmly in our product range.
After importing 100 kg of Brazil nuts from wild collection in the Peruvian lowland rainforest on a trial basis in the fall of 2021 in order to offer them to our customers, we will visit the families who collect the Brazil nuts for the first time on our trip to Peru in February 2022. We are thrilled by the ancient, majestic Brazil nut trees, the forests in which they stand, the connection of the people with these unique ecosystems and agree to import Brazil nuts directly from the families from now on.
Unlike cocoa and coffee, Brazil nut trees are not planted, but grow wild in the rainforest. Their fruits are also not harvested, but collected from the ground. Most Brazil nuts in Europe come from dying trees where the surrounding rainforest has been destroyed and will gradually die. With us it is completely different! Our Brazil nuts come from trees in intact rainforest areas, where on average there is one Brazil nut tree for every two hectares of rainforest.
