Recently I spent four weeks in an indigenous village in Panamá, called Silico Creek. It is located in the comarca Ngöbe-Bugle, which constitutes one out of four autonomically governed indigeneous districts in the country. Here I discovered the real value of chocolate!
Surrounded by cacao plantations the inhabitants make their living basically out of agriculture, selling cacao and growing food on their small plantations. Living within the Ngöbe community I shared their basic way of life, helped with their daily tasks, and got to know about growing cacao and producing 100% organic chocolate in the most native and traditional manner. Working on the farms, maintaining the plantations and harvesting, under hot and humid climatic conditions is a physical challenge. Firsthand I got to know that it is a long way from the seed to the chocolate.
It takes at least three years from seeding to harvesting for the first time. The cacao process is a communal event, a lot of helping hands are needed. Two days on the plantation, havesting and separating the seeds are followed by 7 days of fermentation and 5 to 7 days of drying the seeds. Finally roasting, peeling, grinding the seeds and preparing them as chocolate take another day of processing.
A family in here will harvest about 50-80 kilogram of cacao beans, which results in 20 to 50 kilograms fermented and dried seeds. Considering the price of (at the moment) 1,10 USD per pound this is only little reward for such an amount of work behind the scenes. Chocolate is really the food of gods and we are blessed, being able to apreciate this delicacy in the developed countries!
Follow the photographs to receive an impression of the whole cacao process!
thisBeautiful! Cacao trees flower all year round, they carry flowers and fruits at the same time.
Me, maintaining the trees. Always watching out for snakes, spiders and wasps.
Cacao tree with ripe, yellow fruits, waiting for their harvest.
Chiky is harvesting by machete, it is the most useful equipment at the farm.
Big pile of fruits, which are broken to separate select the seeds in their delicious white pulp. The whole family is involved.
Dionicio proudly presents his fermented and dried seeds. This is how the beans are sold for shipping.
Adelia is roasting the seeds on low fire. For 20-30 minutes she permanently has to turn them.
Helping hands needed! Peeling the beans we have to beware of not burning or cutting our hands with the hot and sharp husks.
Anibal, separating husks and beans. There are strict rules in the process. The husk mustn’t be spread where people are walking for this brings bad luck. Although pregnant woman aren’t allowed to process cacao, as this will bring laziness to their husband.
Grinding the beans is hard work. Bebe and other male family members are helping us.
Wonderful transformation. Soft, pure chocolate mass originates from tough seeds and produces a delicious smell.
Finally mixing the cacao mass with grinded sugar and ingredients like cinnamon or coco. But the Ngöbe prefer to prepare a drink from pure chocolate and water.
Result, I produced my own delicious and healthy chocolate bars with different flavoours. About 20 bars came out of 2 kilogramms cacao beans! :-)