agouti cacao farm

Agouti Cacao Farm (Eladio's Chocolate Adventure) is a wonderful experience, not to be missed if you are in southern Belize. For US $25, you get a tour of the farm, where Eladio or his son Feliciano will show you all different kinds of plants and let you try some of them. I had coconut water straight from the coconut, the lemony stuff that surrounds the beans in a cacao pod and fresh bananas. Then, Eladio's daughter will show you how chocolate is made, from roasting the beans, to winnowing and then grinding them into a paste that can be used to make hot chocolate or chocolate bars. Finally, you will have lunch that is made by Eladio's family. When I was there, we had fresh tortillas, paca and rice and beans. To get there, I took the 10 am San Pedro Colombia market bus (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat) from Punta Gorda. There is a sign for Eladio Pop's house along the bus route once you reach San Pedro Colombia. If you call ahead, Feliciano will give you detailed directions on how to get there. He also showed me how to catch the bus back to Punta Gorda around 3:30 pm. I had a great time and would do the tour again.

It has been 3 years since my family and I spent a day enjoying the hospitality of one of the nicest people you will every meet. While I was in the country again last week I decided to take our group of friends to meet Eladio. Eladio is the proud patriot of a family of 16 including his lovely wife Virginia. Eladio is a simple Mopan Mayan who organically farms everything from cacao, corn and bananas. His only tool is his trusty machete which surprises me that he still has all his fingers as he demonstrates how to open a cacao pod or a coconut. We spent the morning touring his jungle farm and then was treated to a wonderful lunch back at his home. Virginia, his wife, is obviously a very talented cook as she supports a large family. The lunch is always my highlight of the day (sorry Eladio). Eladio may lead the family efforts in the jungle but Virginia runs the home. At 56 Eladio is now including his children in the family business. Son Feliciano and oldest daughter Etalia are helping mom and Dad manage their family business. (Feliciano... keep working on those plant names!)Again... this is truly one of the best things to do in Belize if you want to understand who the people are and how they live.My next trip will be to have Virginia show us how to make her tortillas that she makes from scratch for each meal... If I could I would start an export business just for her tortillas!

My partner and I visited Eladio's Chocolate Farm & Homestay. It's easy to get there by public bus from Punta Gorda. Eladio and his family are so kind. We arrived unannounced and they went above and beyond to make us feel welcome. Eladio gave us a tour of the chocolate farm where we got to experience his way of life and taste some of the many different plants he grows. His eldest daughter gave a demonstration on preparing chocolate and it was delicious! His wife and daughters also prepared tasty meals for us since we decided to do a homestay for 2 nights. They also showed me how to make tortillas! It was a basic, but comfortable stay where you really get the opportunity to socialize with your hosts and learn more about Mayan culture. Most appreciated was the friendly family atmosphere and general conversation with Eladio and Feliciano about values we share including sustainability, conservation, and hard work. A wonderful experience that I highly recommend!

We took a bus from Punta Gorda to the village of San Pedro Columbia to visit the chocolate factory. You should contact them ahead of time so they can be ready for you. We did not and they still took very good care of us.

We had a fantastic day trip with Cotton Tree Lodge to visit Eladio's farm, have lunch prepared by his wife & daughter an learn the traditional Mayan practice of making chocolate. Everything about the experience was perfect, and we have a 2 year old, so this isn't always the case with guided tours! Can't recommend this experience highly enough!

I have been to this village and hiked into the cacao fields with Eladio and his kids many many times over the years. I have learned so much from him. I truelly recommend a visit here. San Pedro is an interesting village with an authenticity that is rare in tourist travels. The agriculture, the river play-time, the ruins of Lubantuun are all an added wonder after visiting Agouti Cacao Farm. I love it here! I have photos to post which I will try to do soon! Feel free to contact me.

We were happy to accommodate and share our Mayan heritage and culture with you. Cacao is our passion and so is the land. Thanks for Making Eladio's Chocolate be a part of your vacation whilst in our beautiful country Belize.

Absolutely! Eladio Pop is a farmer that manages a 34 acre cacao farm deep in the jungle just outside of San Pedro Columbia. Eladio is an amazing man who manages to organically grow everything including: cacao, corn, ginger root, pineapple, hearts of palm, sugarcane, allspice and much more. Eladio will be more than happy to let you taste everything he grows. While the farm is extremely important to Eladio I found that his real joy in life is his wife Virginia and their 15 children who you get to meet back at the family home and with luck enjoy a meal together.This is another Must Stop while in the Punta Gorda Toledo area of Belize!