TAMSHI is a leading company in the sustainable production of high quality cocoa located in Loreto, committed to the environment, standing out for its unique agroforestry systems in the world, its advanced sustainable agriculture practices and conservation projects that preserve biodiversity and the around.

Unfortunately, the company has been facing a harsh and long campaign of defamation and judicial and media harassment by ill-intentioned people and some NGOs, via the dissemination of false information and the creation of fictitious stories / myths with the aim of confusing public opinion to affect its reputation; and worse still, affecting more than 2,500 people who depend economically on the company and have a formal economic activity for the first time.

Through defamation campaigns on social networks and with approximately ten slanderous complaints (the majority filed to date by the Peruvian justice system), an attempt has been made to fabricate an image of the company that is unrelated to reality. These are unethical practices promoted by people or NGOs that manage to collect millions of soles from abroad for their own benefit.

As a socially and environmentally responsible company, we respect Peruvian laws, as well as the fundamental right to free expression. However, faced with the violence and severity of the complaints and false information published to damage our reputation, we had no alternative but to legally defend ourselves for the honor of the company and that of our collaborators.

We are pleased to report that the Peruvian judiciary has supported TAMSHI, recognizing the integrity of our practices and projects and has ruled for aggravated defamation against Lucila Pautrat, representative of the NGO Kené, in two consecutive instances for having defamed us (Doc 1 a – 1 b).

TAMSHI is a formal company that respects Peruvian laws and contributes significantly to improving the quality of life of the local communities where it operates, providing formal employment, constant training, education, health and empowerment.

Below, we detail some myths that circulate on the Internet and debunk them with evidence:

MYTH:

The company has deforested thousands of hectares of primary forests suitable for forestry to carry out agricultural activities.

TRUE:

In 2016, the NGO “Save the Jungle” spread some of these falsehoods and had to be publicly rectified after being summoned before the Hamburg Court (Doc 2).

TAMSHI is located in Tamshiyacu, a town near the city of Iquitos, and founded in 1936 (Doc 3), by pioneer farmers who were dedicated to agricultural activity from the beginning, as reported by the founder of the Ministry of the Environment (Antonio Brack ) (Doc 4).

In 2015, 2017 and 2020, three final judicial resolutions of the Judiciary (Doc 5 – 6 – 7), which have res judicata status, ratified that:

(i) There was never illegal logging,

(ii) It was impossible for the areas of the properties to have characteristics of primary forests,

(iii) The lands that make up the farm are for agricultural use and aptitude since they were awarded by the Peruvian State as such through legislative decree N°. 838 (Doc 8 – 9), which has recognized these properties as agricultural for more than 25 years, and therefore, the authorization to change land use is not required.

Authorities also recognized the aforementioned in various documents (Doc 10 – 11 –12 – 13 - 14).

These were not lands suitable for forestry, otherwise the State itself would not have been able to allocate them. (Doc 15)

Furthermore, judicial experts, supported by satellite images and visual inspections, concluded that there was no deforestation on the TAMSHI farm and confirmed the existence of cocoa cultivation activities carried out under agroforestry systems (Doc 16).

MYTH:

The company is dedicated to illegal timber trafficking.

TRUE:

TAMSHI is a leading company in the sustainable production of high-quality cocoa in Peru and is the largest cocoa producer in the country.

An ONG spread false news indicating that the company had illegally marketed three times the volume of wood sold in the entire Loreto region, which is totally absurd, since this small town does not have a port.

In 2020, the Loreto Appeals Chamber ruled in favor of TAMSHI, indicating that illegal timber trafficking never existed on the farm (Doc 7).

On April 25, 2022, the Supreme Court ratified TAMSHI's acquittal and puts an end, as res judicata, to the case that was invented with the intention of harming the company (Doc 17).

To support this slanderous complaint for illegal timber trafficking, Lucila Pautrat, representative of Kené, presented false evidence, such as alleged photographs of overflights to the Tamshiyacu farm, which were denied by an expert from the Public Ministry who recognized that the authenticity of these could not be accredited. photos (Doc 18).

MYTH:

The company harasses and threatens small farmers and activists.

TRUE:

TAMSHI maintains a very positive relationship with the local community and stands out as one of the main formal employers in the region (Doc 19).

This commitment has been recognized by the majority of the population of Tamshiyacu, as evidenced in a letter sent to the Ombudsman (Doc 20), and by civil organizations such as the Coordinator for the Development of Loreto (Doc 21), and the Colegio of Engineers (Doc 22). Therefore, it is totally false to indicate that there is harassment of small farmers.

On the other hand, in a statement before the Judiciary, it has been shown that third parties received incentives from an "NGO" to file a false complaint against TAMSHI (Doc 23).

Furthermore, the German NGO “Weltfriedensdienst” (WFD) (“Peace in the World” in Spanish) had to publicly recant due to reckless defamatory claims, such as accusing and publishing that TAMSHI “murders activists” (Doc 24).

MYTH:

The company is a criminal organization.

TRUE:

The Prosecutor's Office investigated and issued Tax Provision No. 6, which concluded that TAMSHI was not a criminal organization, but rather it is a formally constituted company, which pays taxes and generates formal employment in the area through the cultivation of cocoa in Tamshiyacu. This slanderous denunciation was promoted by those who also spread many of the other myths. (Doc 25).

MYTH:

The company operates illegally, because it does not have an Environmental Management Instrument.

TRUE:

TAMSHI has its Environmental Management Instrument.

As MINAGRI indicated in 2013, through firm administrative acts, TAMSHI is responsible for an Environmental Management Adequacy Program (PAMA) (Doc 12), and this is what it has presented to the corresponding authority.

Currently, the PAMA is being evaluated judicially and we have recently been supported in the first instance (Doc 26),

It is important to highlight that TAMSHI fully complies with all current regulations to operate while the approval of its PAMA is being processed.

At TAMSHI we reaffirm our commitment to continue working with responsibility and transparency to contribute to the preservation of the Amazon and promote sustainable agriculture for the benefit of local communities and the environment.

The collaborators and residents of Tamshiyacu are proud to belong to the TAMSHI family!