Permaculture and Chocolate
Looking at the Ideal Cacao Farm Through a Permaculture Lense.
A man stands on his plantation holding pods of cacao in the coastal town of Choroni, Venezuela, By Michael Hanson, (Offset), http://www.offset.com/photos/39341 Our ideal cacao farm would likely be located in Ecuador in an area where a few of our plants are already occurring naturally. Ecuador has a multitude of volcanoes (26 total with a few of them extinct but most of them still active) and the cacao tree is native to South America. Coffee beans are also grown in Ecuador and help form an excellent shrub level for the cacao farm. Coffee bushes keep rain and wind from damaging the soil or smaller cacao trees so they’re worthwhile protection. The coffee plant grows to be 3-3.5 meters tall while the cacao tree grows 4 to 8 meters tall so they compliment each other nicely. Having two fruiting crops also allows the farmer a buffer of sorts if oneContinue Reading
Field Study
- 15 Oct 2015
I wandered the NW chocolate festival in search of a nib, piece or confection that would enlighten my pallet and open my imagination. Ok, so maybeContinue Reading
- 12 Oct 2015
Raaka Chocolate founders: Ryan Cheney (right) and Nate Hodge (left), http://www.raakachocolate.com/pages/our-story
- 12 Oct 2015
By Michael Hanson, (Offset), http://www.offset.com/photos/39379 In Cacao sourcing, as in many commodity supply chains, there are unique models of trade that craft producers canContinue Reading
- 8 Oct 2015
A woman holds a handful cacao beans in her hands in the small, remote village of Chuao, Venezuela, By Michael Hanson, (Offset), http://www.offset.com/search/cacao Day/TimeContinue Reading
- 8 Oct 2015
Day/Time Title of Talk Author/Speaker Saturday/4:00pm Venezuela: from the old tradition of a paste of cacao to the “bean to bar” movement Maria Fernanda Di GiacobbeContinue Reading
Terroir +
- 12 Oct 2015
By Marou Faiseurs de Chocolat, [http://marouchocolate.com/post/58397164815/products] Amid the booths of world-class chocolatiers, I found Marou Faiseurs de Chocolat and I was able to better understand theContinue Reading
- 12 Oct 2015
Cacao Pods, By Roddy Scheer / Danita Delimont, (Offest), http://www.offset.com/photos/128033 Anything that works to transform the simple act of eating into something more; whetherContinue Reading
