REGENUARY: What Regeneration means to us at islands
Our work begins long before cocoa becomes chocolate.
Regenuary - short for “Regenerative January” - is a celebration and movement to support and grow awareness of regenerative agriculture. Regen. agriculture is a farming practice that stabilises soil health, facilitates and boosts biodiversity, and captures carbon by working alongside nature instead of working against its forces. It encourages customers to by local and shop seasonal, to take a second to understand where their produce is coming from and how it was farmed, and to opt for more sustainable approaches where possible - for both people and planet.
This January, we’re taking you back to the very beginning - where our chocolate truly starts. It begins at origin, in the soils, ecosystems, and communities where cocoa is grown. This is where we believe meaningful change must happen.
What is Regenerative Agriculture
On our farms in St Vincent, we work exclusively within an agroforestry model that sits at the heart of regenerative agriculture. Rather than cultivating cocoa in monocrop plantations - an approach that contributes to soil degradation, biodiversity loss, and increased vulnerability to climate pressures - we grow cocoa within multi-layered systems that mimic natural forest ecology. Cocoa growing beneath a living canopy of shade trees like Gliricidia and alongside native fruit trees such as banana. This means healthier soils, richer biodiversity, and farms built to thrive long-term - for people and planet.
Community, Not Commodity.
At Islands we are committed to challenge the entrenched commoditisation of cocoa. The global market has for decades valued volume over ethics, driving unsustainable prices and enabling harmful practices, including deforestation, exploitative labour conditions, and - far too often - modern slavery. Islands Chocolate was founded to model a different path: one where transparency and traceability are non-negotiable, and where farmers are treated as partners rather than anonymous suppliers. We invest directly in communities, guarantee stable and dignified pricing, and collaborate closely with growers on regenerative practices that increase long-term productivity and ecological health.
Regenerative Cocoa
We want to redefine what responsible agriculture can look like in cocoa farming. We hope not only to showcase what a regenerative cocoa supply chain can achieve, and our belief that food systems must be ethical from origin to outcome. We want to champion cocoa that enriches ecosystems instead of eroding them, empowers farmers instead of exploiting them, and offer consumers chocolate with conscience.
Regeneration is possible at every stage of the supply chain, and that cocoa can - and should - be grown in a way that restores both land and livelihoods.
This is cocoa grown The Islands Way.
Tastes Good. Does Good.
