Today I have a link.

I think this is a thoughtful article about why it is important, from a business standpoint, to work and teach farmers sustainable farming practices.  Take a moment to read it when you can spare the time. 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704608504576208123457763158.html?mod=dist_smartbrief

A funny thing happened on the way to Finmac.

Finmac is surrounded by banana fields; fields that are owned by a large well known corporation here in the US. Two problems with banana and pineapple fields, one is the deforestation of the jungle and the other is  heavy use of pesticides.  The banana fields surrounding Finmac are not organic and many different types of chemicals are used to prevent a myriad of issues that bananas are prone towards.  The bananas are covered, while on the tree, with large blue bags that are lined with a pesticide - this pesticide deteriorates quickly once the bag is removed - as well as crop dusting; this is done with special planes that spray the fields.  As we drove down a long narrow dirt road to our destination, a plane was dusting the banana fields with pesticide(s) while at the same time, many people and animals were working in the fields or walking along the road. The crop duster was releasing pesticide while flying directly over them which included the bus we were traveling in; you could see the droplets on the windows and sides of the bus.  We were shocked.  When we arrived at the Finmac, we were told that this was normal practice and, while the corporation verbally does not want them to do this, it is done and there is no reprisal from the corporation.

I wondered how a cacao farm that is certified organic can be surrounded by this indiscriminate dusting and still be certified.  Hugh, Finmac's owner, had a brilliant solution that took into account the beauty of the jungle; plant trees that will grow very tall, very quickly around his entire farm.  This forced the dust croppers to pull up very sharply when they reached the edge of Finmac's property.  This sharp pulling up of the dust cropper meant the pilot had to stop dusting and, combined with a buffer of land that allows for pesticide drift, the remaining cacao trees are not affected by this spraying. While this saves Finmac's organic certification, I wonder what the long term affects this has on people and animals.  I have been unable to eat a banana, and it has been nearly three months since my trip in Costa Rica. 

This shows the deforestation of the forest to plant pineapple plants. I am not convinced that this is necessary as the cacao and coffee farms are proving. 

The second day of our class...

began with a long drive to Finmac, a cacao farm owned by Hugo Hemelink.  He is dedicated to organic farming and the men and women who work for him seem to like and respect him very much.

If you look closely, near the middle of the picture above, you will see a sloth.  One man showed us his scars that were on his arms from the bites of these beautiful and slow creatures.While they are slow, they are quick to protect themselves if they feel endangered. 

At Finmac, we see an incredibly well managed farm, and the intense use of human labor.  Like most fruits and vegetables grown in this country,  it is often on the sturdy backs of men or mules that food, and here cacao, is carried.  In the picture below, this man is doing the pulling of this train of beans. Because Finmac is a certified organic farm, the use of mules and their byproduct is not worth the expense or spread of disease,  so it is men that harvest, clear and transport these beans to the building where the beans will be fermented, the next important process of creating chocolate flavor. 

Costa Rica - March 7, 2010

Arrived by plane to San Jose, Costa Rica in the late evening of March 7, 2010, in tandem with a large storm (I say tandem because it felt similar to being in the stoker position of a bike, a position that leaves you without much control), becoming the scariest landing I have ever experienced.   With one wing pointing down towards the runway as the plane was buffeted by winds, there was a moment of uncertainty whether we would be able to land without breaking up into tiny pieces on the runway, when the plane quickly righted and bounced along until we came to a near stop and then to taxi mode.  You could hear everyone let out their breath at the same time, as all of the passengers realized that the plane was in one piece. 

 

Luckily, my chocolate was in one piece in the bin above my head.

I was met by friends at the airport, a couple of days before my class started the following Monday.  Their hospitality was wonderful and on a whim, they took me to a coffee plantation tour that was delightful.  From that tour I heard about how farms of all types in Costa Rica are working towards organic procedures, sustainability of the produce and the jungle, and keeping waste from entering their water systems.  Costa Rica is only beginning to understand that, although their country does not have minerals or precious gems, their jungle is a national treasure and should be protected for a variety of reasons.  It was a head start on my education of the cocao farms and cocoa beans.

Master Chocolate program with Ecole Chocolat.

Next week I fly to Costa Rica to learn first hand about the growing, harvesting and fermenting of the cocoa bean.  The class is led by Steve De Vries, a well known chocolate maker, and Julio Fernadez, a local Costa Rican maker.  The class will be take place near San Jose, Costa Rica and in a five day span, we will walk through a few cocao farms, nestled in the jungles where cocao trees naturally grow.  
On a personal note, purchasing beans that are organic and not produced by slave labor is important, not only to me, but to many of  my customers as well.
Hopefully, I will be able to upload photos and write short posts during my class.