(MENAFN- Brazil-Arab News Agency (ANBA)) São Paulo – Izete Costa, known as Dona Nena, is an entrepreneur who produces chocolate on an island in Belém, Brazil's Pará state, called Combu. Unlike most entrepreneurs in Brazil, Dona Nena doesn't aspire to build a business empire or become a major exporter. Her dreams are to keep the forest where she lives standing and to generate income for the surrounding community.

“I want to bring people here, so they can spend money and generate income within the community,” she explains, speaking to a group of journalists in facilities built to welcome visitors amid the island's lush greenery.“I depend on the forest to grow, so if I were to expand, I'd have to cut down the forest to plant more cocoa-and that's not the goal. The goal is to keep the forest standing.”

Chocolates are produced on Combu Island

The chocolate company is called Filha do Combu Chocolates e Doces Regionais and processes around four metric tons of cocoa per year to produce various derivatives, including chocolate bars ranging from 55% to 100% cocoa, brigadeiros, nibs, and liqueurs. The business has a store on the island and another in urban Belém, and ships its products throughout Brazil.

On the island, the business has a simple and welcoming structure, featuring a thatched hut for visitors, a store, a café, processing and chocolate production areas, among other spaces-all surrounded by river and forest.“Now I feel very happy to be the protagonist of my own business, and everything the forest offers me, I'm able to transform and add value to,” she says.

Cocoa grows in the forest

But Izete Costa's journey to reach this point was long and filled with many chapters of perseverance in the forest. Born on the island, the Pará native's family lived off extractivism-cocoa, fruits, fish, shrimp, and other foods provided by the natural environment. During the off-season, however, they had to seek income in the city.“We had to leave to make a living. That went on for a long time,” she recalls.

As an adult, Dona Nena began her own journey to make a living for herself and her family from the forest. One of her first attempts was producing bio-jewelry as part of a local collective initiative. But the bio-jewelry didn't find a market. It was while taking part in fairs to sell the pieces in the city, however, that the Pará native remembered the habit of making her own homemade chocolate and wrapping it in a green leaf.

“We used to grind cocoa in a wooden mortar and add sugar, turning it into a paste that was placed in a folded leaf,” she recalls. This chocolate was grated and eaten during festive occasions or when guests visited.“And I decided to take it to the fair. My family said, 'You're going crazy, who's going to buy a product in a leaf?'” she laughs. But the leaf-wrapped chocolate sparked consumers' nostalgic memories and became a hit. She continued making this chocolate until she replaced the mortar with a manual mill to meet sanitary standards.

Dona Nena (from behind) showcases the best brigadeiro in the world

A connection with chef Thiago Castanho came with the advice that she shouldn't change her product, as it was both high-quality and unique. He also taught her how to make brigadeiro in a jar.“Based on his product, I made my own brigadeiro, which is now the world's best,” she says, smiling. Nena then supplied this brigadeiro to the chef and other renowned cooks, turning it into a showcase for the island's products. This helped attract visitors to Combu, leading to an increase in local restaurants and the formation of transportation cooperatives for tourism.

But Nena still wanted to refine her chocolate, and she pursued it-and succeeded. Now, although she focuses mainly on chocolate production, she is also involved in several activities, including tourism, and is happy that these businesses employ around 50 people. The cocoa used in her chocolate comes from the forest, grown among other trees in a system she calls agroecological.

The chocolates range from 55% to 100% cocoa

Dona Nena is an entrepreneur, but when she talks to visitors, she doesn't dwell on revenue or business figures. She shares that they use solar energy, collect rainwater, and explains how the tide spreads cocoa seeds and organic matter across the island, naturally fertilizing and irrigating it. She also points out that the island's forest provides açaí, cupuaçu, pupunha, araçá, and other products.

Combu Island is located in the Amazon rainforest. The presence of this biome in the state of Pará led to Belém, the state capital, being chosen to host the United Nations COP30 climate summit, taking place in November. One of the goals is to help other countries understand the reality of the Brazilian Amazon and its global importance.

The journalist traveled at the invitation of Brazil's agribusiness lobby, CNA.

Translated by Guilherme Miranda

Wenderson Araujo/TriluxWenderson Araujo/TriluxWenderson Araujo/TriluxWenderson Araujo/TriluxReproduction/Filha do Combu

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