The first cacao farm we set foot on was in Costa Rica in 2008. It was Hugo Hermelink’s FINMAC farm near Villafranca, in the north central region that spanned 110 hectares.As we walked among the carefully tended cacao trees, we saw numerous sloths sitting in the trees, a caiman alligator in a nearby stream, and a cacophony of insects and birds.It was a true ecosystem, and it really hit home for us that cacao needs to be in a healthy forest which is bio-diverse, with nutrient-rich soil and a thriving insect population.Cacao farms are also biological corridors for larger predators such as big cats to roam and hunt. We felt that cacao was a product we could feel proud to source, as it was good for the habitat and needs that rainforest ecosystem to thrive. This is why we started putting animals on our packaging.Our first bar was our Costa Rica 75% with a sloth drawing on the front. FINMAC was considered a sloth sanctuary with over 70 sloths residing on the farm. And this was in stark contrast to the neighboring pineapple and banana plantations that had no wildlife to speak of.