Dara Adamolekun

Dara Adamolekun is a Harvard College student pursuing a joint concentration in Social Studies and African Studies, with a secondary in Economics and a citation in Spanish. Dara is the founder of ReGeneración, an initiative through the Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute, which equips underemployed youth with skills to help producers create polygon maps required by the EUDR and document reforestation efforts. Additionally, the initiative helps producers generate extra revenue through the voluntary carbon marketplace.

Inspired by her great-grandfather, a cocoa farmer from Ibadan, Nigeria, whose sacrifices made her education possible, Dara is dedicated to improving the livelihoods of commodity producers and their communities. For her thesis, Dara researched the effects of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) in the Dominican Republic and collaborated with local producers to create digital farm maps for regulatory compliance. Through interviews and conversations, she developed an understanding of key industry challenges, including compliance difficulties, a technological divide, and limited opportunities for young people. 

Dara’s diverse experiences position her well to lead this effort. She was the first undergraduate academic visitor at the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, serves as a research associate at the Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute, and is a student ambassador at the Harvard Center for International Development. And as the former programming chair of Harvard Youth Led the Change, she is passionate about youth leadership and recognizes the importance of youth engagement to create more equitable, sustainable societies. 

As a Cheng Fellow, Dara looks forward to furthering ReGeneración and broadening its scale and impact in the Dominican Republic and beyond.