Chocolate with a Higher Purpose

Photos by Jete Devisser.
As founder and CEO of EMKAO Foods, Ayissi Nyemba transforms cacao beans from Kotou Farm in Cameroon, which is run by her father, Ambela Nyemba, into cocoa products used by businesses in the Lower Mainland, Calgary and Montreal in a range of products, from artisanal bars to gelato.
In EMKAO’s 3,000-square-foot production facility in Mission, B.C., four factory staff, including Charlotte Oduro and Cooper Nuttall (shown with Nyemba), process about 20 tonnes of cacao a year, shipped from Kotou Farm.