Tag Archives: Bolivia

Heifer and the ‘Chocolate Forest’

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The production and marketing process for Bolivian chocolate. Photos courtesy of Heifer International

The production and marketing process for Bolivian chocolate. Photos courtesy of Heifer International

 

Heifer is working with communities in the Bolivian Amazon to harvest cacao for the production and marketing of chocolate, while preserving the health of the forest. By adding sheep, poultry and fish to their regular cacao activities, these families have alternate sources of income and nutrition. In this video, World Ark Senior Editor Austin Bailey and Heifer Americas Program Assistant Jason Woods share about their recent trip to Bolivia’s “Chocolate Forest.”

 

Where Does Chocolate Come From?

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Happy Valentine’s Day! However you spend today, there is a good chance chocolate will be accompanying you. This week, 58 million pounds of chocolate will be sold in the U.S., constituting $345 million in sales according to a CNN report (that’s about five percent of chocolate sales for the year!).

Despite living a life surrounded by millions of pounds of chocolate sales, the chocolate creation process was a mystery to me until recently. I knew something called “cacao” or maybe “cocoa” grew on a tree or a bush somewhere, at some point sugar entered the equation, and more or less–voila! there’s your chocolate.

Luckily, I had the opportunity to fill in the gaps of my woefully inadequate chocolate story. In January, I traveled to Bolivia to visit Heifer’s project, Developing Food Systems for Small Farmer and Indigenous Families in the Bolivian Amazon. The project will support 2,783 families that are managing and harvesting wild cacao in the Bolivian jungle through training in natural resource management and climate change adaptation, resources like sheep and fish to diversify income and nutrition, and stronger links to local markets.

Tito and Dani Noe are, along with their parents, participants in the project. They help their parents harvest and process cacao in the village of San Jose del Cavitu, and the two of them helped me understand the cacao-to-chocolate journey better.

Dani and Tito Noe, in front of their home in San Josedel Cavitu, Bolivia. Photo by Jason Woods, courtesy of Heifer International.

Dani and Tito Noe, in front of their home in San Jose del Cavitu, Bolivia. Photo by Jason Woods, courtesy of Heifer International.

First, of course, comes the harvest. Tito and Dani, who are 12 and 10 years old respectively, aren’t allowed to help with the harvest yet. Although some kids in the village help their parents, Tito and Dani won’t travel to the chocotal, or cacao forest, until they hit 16. The cacao harvest generally peaks in January, and during that time, most of the community will regularly visit the chocotal, which is a 45-minute motorcycle ride (or long walk) away from the Noe house.

Recently harvested cacao pods. Photo by Dave Anderson, courtesy of Heifer International.

Recently harvested cacao pods. Photo by Dave Anderson, courtesy of Heifer International.

The cacao fruit itself is about the size of a large Nerf football. It starts out green and becomes yellow when ripe. The fruit also grows from any of the tree’s branches as well as the tree trunk. When the cacao pod is chopped in half, it reveals dozens of seeds covered in a soft, white membrane. The white part is edible, sweet and tasty, although it doesn’t taste much like the chocolate we know. And that makes sense, because chocolate comes from the seeds themselves. If you can’t help yourself (or, like me, don’t know any better) and chew the seeds up along with the fleshy white part, it turns purple in your mouth!

Harvesters often use a machete to collect the low-hanging fruit. For cacao fruits located higher in the tree, a long stick with a wire circle at the end is used. Once the fruits are collected, the seeds, complete with the white membrane, are extracted and poured in a container and taken back to the village.

For the fruits found higher on the tree, many people use a tree branch with a wire circle to harvest the cacao.

For the fruits found higher on the tree, many people use a tree branch with a wire circle to harvest the cacao. Photo by Jason Woods, courtesy of Heifer International.

After the cacao pods are harvested, they are cut open to reveal seeds covered by a white, fleshy membrane. Photo by Dave Anderson, courtesy of Heifer International.

After the cacao pods are harvested, they are cut open to reveal seeds covered by a white, fleshy membrane. Photo by Dave Anderson, courtesy of Heifer International.

From there, the seeds are placed in a wooden box or arranged in a pile to ferment, which can take up to a week. During the fermentation, the white membrane is converted and removed, leaving only the seeds (or beans).

Recently fermented cacao is poured onto a table to be spread and dried. Photo by Dave Anderson, courtesy of Heifer International.

Recently fermented cacao is poured onto a table to be spread and dried. Photo by Dave Anderson, courtesy of Heifer International.

After fermentation, the seeds are spread out on a large, wooden table to dry. This is where Dani and Tito really start to help their folks out. In Bolivia, January is “summer vacation,” and the kids are available to help with processing the cacao. Tito told me that it usually takes about three days for the seeds to dry completely, and then he and Dani use the grinder to make a powder, which is turned into a big ball of chocolate paste. Then the Noe family is off to the market to sell the chocolate in nearby San Ignacio.

Cacao seeds drying in the sun. Photo by Jason Woods, courtesy of Heifer International.

Cacao seeds drying in the sun. Photo by Jason Woods, courtesy of Heifer International.

Tito Noe shows his family's cacao grinder in San Jose del Cavitu, Bolivia. Photo by Jason Woods, courtesy of Heifer International.

Tito Noe shows his family’s cacao grinder in San Jose del Cavitu, Bolivia. Photo by Jason Woods, courtesy of Heifer International.

After the cacao is ground, it is turned into a paste. Photo by Jason Woods, courtesy of Heifer International.

After the cacao is ground, it is turned into a paste. Photo by Jason Woods, courtesy of Heifer International.

This is only part of the process that leads to what we in the United States generally think of as chocolate. What is consumed here is usually processed more heavily, and many extra ingredients, like sugar and milk, are added along the way. The product the Noes sell and consume is primarily used to make a locally popular hot chocolate drink, but the drink is strong and bitter–more like coffee than a chocolate bar.

The final product--a hot cup of chocolate. Photo by Jason Woods, courtesy of Heifer International.

The final product–a hot cup of chocolate. Photo by Jason Woods, courtesy of Heifer International.

So, our mystery solved. Chocolate comes from a strange-looking, yellow, ridged fruit in the jungle. But it also comes from hard-working, rural families.

For the Noes and other families in the Bolivian Amazon, the chocolate they sell is an opportunity to put food on the table and potentially send their kids to a university. Both Tito and Dani want to attend college. Tito hopes to be a teacher in San Juan del Cavitu some day; Dani is still thinking and dreaming (although he says he’s the best student in his class at school). But none of their seven older siblings have had the opportunity to attend university. With Heifer’s support, the goal is to make sure families can send kids like Tito and Dani to school while making sure there is enough to eat on the table. And plenty of chocolate to drink, too.

Tito (front) and Dani (back) Noe demonstrate how their tops work. Photo by Jason Woods, courtesy of Heifer International.

Tito (front) and Dani (back) Noe demonstrate how their tops work. Photo by Jason Woods, courtesy of Heifer International.

Did You Have a Very Heifer Mother’s Day?

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Did you give your mom a Heifer Mother’s Day gift yesterday? How did she like it? Or did you receive a Heifer Mother’s Day gift? What did you get?

Tell us about it in the comments section below. And keep you eyes out for unique Father’s Day gifts coming soon from Heifer! We’ve got you covered.

Bolivian family with vegetables

Photo by Christian DeVries, courtesy of Heifer International

Llamas and Alpacas: Your Black Friday Alternative

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Dario Mayta, the son of Jose Mayta, with one of the
alpacas that his father received from Heifer.

Llamas and their cousin the alpaca have been invaluable for the people of South America since the Incas domesticated them around 4,000 B.C. While llamas are best known for their wool, they also have keen eyesight and can act as guards, protecting other herds from potential predators.

Jose Mayta and his wife Utilia Chura-Laura.

In the isolated village of Pallallani, Bolivia, Jose Mayta and Utilia Chura-Laura took the gift of two alpacas and made a thriving farm. The couple now has 60 adult alpacas. Each is sheared once a year and provides about four pounds of wool. Though the market is a seven-hour walk, Jose knows the money he  makes there will go toward the children’s education. In god years, alpaca wool sells between $5 and $7 per pound, so he can earn a total of $1,300 to $1,700 from his alpaca herd.


Clothing and Blankets
The wool that llamas and alpacas provide is prized when woven into blankets, ponchos, carpet and rope. And with each animal providing between four and eight pounds of wool a year, weaving can become a lucrative business.

Protected Ecosystems
Pasture land in the Andean Mountains is scarce, and vegetation at high altitudes is fragile. But with their padded, two-towed feet, llamas leave little impact on the mountain ecosystems. Their droppings can also help fertilize the scarce topsoil.

Transportation
Families high in the Andean mountains use llamas as pack animals to move goods to markets. Depending on the terrain, llamas can carry up to 30 percent of their body weight, making them better pack animals than horses.

This holiday season, give the gift of a llama in honor of Cousin Frank, who always won the spitting contests when you were kids. Read more about Heifer’s work with llamas and alpacas to see why they’re a winning pick for many families in South America.

Photos by Christian DeVries.

Ending Hunger in Bolivia: There’s More Than Meets the Eye

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Mike Thompson, author “The Anywhere Leader,” is visiting Heifer projects in Bolivia as part of his search for stories of leaders who “exemplify what it means to be Driven for Progress, Sensationally Curious and Vastly Resourceful when faced with uncertainty and disruption.”

In a recent post on his blog, Mike shared some interesting insights on how he sees our Bolivia team as a group with many diverse talents…

Heifer International is helping communities here transform socially and economically through training and assistance. For them, one solution won’t work. This team of Heifer leaders must have a broad understanding of the Bolivian landscape and the hundreds of cultures that exist here…To sustain their relevance in this culture and maximize their impact, they must be generalists – something many organizations are asking of their leaders as business grows globally and changes rapidly.

For Heifer to help Bolivian communities transform (mainly through agricultural development), this organization and its leaders have to know what works well at 18,000 feet and at 180 feet. In the highlands, Heifer helps communities grow potatoes and grains. Llamas do pretty well up there, as well. In the lowlands, the focus is on cows and corn. The valleys are perfect for growing fruits and vegetables.

Combine that with different processes for each produce and mix in any number of ethnic groups, languages, customs and lifestyles, and this is a job for Anywhere Leaders who are skilled generalists – right here in Bolivia.

You can read the rest of Mike’s insights about our Bolivia team here, and see additional photos from this trip on the Anywhere Leader Flickr account. In recent weeks, Mike’s travels have also taken him to our projects in Nepal and China.

Helping the Local Food Movement Scale Up

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Can the local food movement scale up? That’s the question posed in a recent post on FastCompany.com. I was glad to see this publication – known for profiling innovative, high-tech ideas and solutions – take on an issue that will increasingly be on the minds of so many as the world struggles to feed its growing population. In the piece, guest blogger Jigar Shah makes a good point: As the local food movement gains steam, how will small-scale farmers continue to meet the demand for their fresh, wholesome produce?

“The question we must ask is, ‘Will this scale?’ For anything to scale, it must solve a real problem, be cost-effective and replicable, and have the right systems in place to support it. To do that, it must attract sufficient capital from the private sector to encourage entrepreneurs to build large, profitable businesses.”

Shah, who has a background as a solar energy entrepreneur, points out parallels between the conventional energy and food industries. In his words, both industries suffer from complex and inefficient distribution systems and heavy regulations that favor the status quo over young companies that might have solutions to some of these industries’ problems. 

One innovative new food producer, BrightFarms, is taking an interesting approach to scaling up local food production by placing hydroponic greenhouses on the roofs of supermarkets. The harvested produce reaches shopping carts without leaving the neighborhood. Shah closes his post by acknowledging that BrightFarms can’t address the need for wholesome foods alone. 

“Just as solar rooftop systems meet some but not all of our energy needs, rooftop gardens can make some but not all of our nation’s food production and distribution more efficient. Finding the right answers for energy or food production will require us to invest in thousands of technologies that are scalable and make an impact.”

It occurred to me that the local food movement can only scale up if the demand is there. But what if it isn’t? In El Alto of La Paz, Bolivia, a local group recognized the need to raise awareness of the health benefits of wholesome foods. Through a partnership with Heifer International, they conducted a series of workshops at eight local schools about preparing and eating healthy food made with traditional, local ingredients. The families who attended these workshops then conducted similar workshops in other schools, and later organized a street fair to raise awareness of local foods.  Our colleagues in Bolivia sent this video that tells this impressive story. 


 
I like to think of this as scaling up awareness, and it’s exciting to me because this is something we can all do. We may not all be able to build hydroponic greenhouses; but like our friends in Bolivia, we can certainly tell others of the importance of eating wholesome, locally-produced food. Of course, I’d like to hear what you think. What are you doing to raise awareness of and support your local, small-scale farmers and food producers?

How Heifer Projects Are Promoting a Healthy Environment

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On April 18, Worldwatch Institute’s blog, Nourishing the Planet, published a list of 15 ways agriculture can “promote a healthier environment and a more food-secure future.” In honor of Earth Day 2011, we would like to explore these 15 ways and how Heifer’s projects around the world are addressing these issues. We’ll do this in three separate posts, matching five Heifer projects with the corresponding Nourishing the Planet concepts.


1. Guaranteeing the Right to Food
The goals of the National More Organic for Everyone (MORE) Project are to increase organic producers’ supply, improve access to high-quality organic food by underserved communities in Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas City, Minnesota, New York and Wisconsin and identify opportunities to strengthen the linkages between organic producers and communities in food desert areas. This project is helping 60 farmers initiate or make the transition to organic production while providing organic food to 600 food-insecure families.
In the words of a MORE Project participant in Georgia:
My name is Alfred, 64 and a half years young. And having lost my job, this is the best thing that could have ever happened to me, preparing myself to become an organic backyard gardener. The experiences and classes I am having I would have never gotten from books alone. Specifically when working hand-in-hand with the volunteer farmers, I am learning to do various things in different ways and learning to adapt them to my specific needs and requirements.

Since I started the project, I finished building several raised and standard beds, which are planted, harvested and producing already. I’ve improved my methods of seeding, learned the proper way to compost and learned the principles of crop rotation, planning and companion planting. I’ve also started building a walk-in hoop-house. And if everything works out okay, I’m planning to sell at local farmers markets soon.



2. Harnessing the Nutritional and Economic Potential of Vegetables.

Heifer’s Empowering Marginalized Communities in Northern Thailand Project assists 1,170 minority families in nine poor communities. Families receive sows, piglets, fruit saplings, crop seeds and vegetable seeds. In this project, kitchen gardens are one of the activities that help villagers reduce daily food expenses.
Mr. Alu and Mrs. Muba Yaesaw are participants of the project. Before, the family made their living from selling wild products at Wednesday and Saturday markets. But after becoming project participants, they began growing a kitchen garden for home consumption and sale. They grow both native and wild vegetables. Their family’s nutrition has improved from the more diverse diet. In addition to selling at the market two days a week, they sell their vegetables from a mobile shop within the village and nearby villages and at special events. Mr. Alu said that after growing their own vegetables, they did not have to buy vegetables for more than a year. They also shared vegetables with their neighbors and guests who came to their village.

3. Reducing Food Waste

To diversify the income streams of families benefiting from the gift of livestock, Heifer Sierra Leone entered into a partnership in 2010 with the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA). This partnership has resulted in the distribution of high-yielding cassava varieties to supplement project families’ agricultural inputs, diet and income. Cassava, also called yuca or manoic, is a woody shrub native to South America. Cassava is the third-largest source of carbohydrates for meals in the world. However, one of the challenges of cassava production is its relatively short post-harvest storage capacity. To preserve this staple food year-round in areas where there is no refrigeration, it is often processed into garri, a kind of cereal that keeps for long period. It is sometimes turned into fried chips and eaten as a snack. An additional benefit of cassava is that the peels are good for feeding animals, and the leaves are made into a nutritious stew.
The Tongea Women Farmers in Kailahun district are one of the groups that has benefitted from Heifer’s partnership with IITA. Along with various trainings they received from Heifer, the group also received cassava cuttings, which they planted in a group garden. Because their cassava production was so successful, IITA contributed further to the project by having two cassava-processing centers built. These facilities have become a resource for the women who engage in homemade garri processing and other cassava products. Garri and other foods processed from cassava sell at higher market value than the cassava plant itself, and the women are now learning that by adding value to their farm products, they are able to generate real income to improve their livelihoods and those of their family members.
4. Feeding Cities.
The population of El Alto in La Paz, Bolivia, largely consists of families who have migrated from the Bolivian highlands. As part of the rural-to-urban migration process, these families often exchange their healthy, traditional diets of Andean crops for por quality, highly processed and carbohydrate-rich foods, resulting in the high rates of both malnutrition and obesity among the urban poor. Heifer’s Restoring the Consumption of Native Foods in El Alto, La Paz Project promotes food security in eight peri-urban communities in El Alto. Heifer works to improve the eating habits of school children and their families through advocacy with local decision-makers, strengthening of the network of social control of the School Boards, and community awareness-raising as a strategy to recover and consume the vast diversity of healthy traditional Andean products.
5. Getting More Crop per Drop.
Small farmers in the Piura region of Peru live in poverty. Approximately 35,000 families live in this territory, and their livelihoods are vitally dependent on the region’s ecosystem. They are affected by El Nino floods, which deteriorate roads and isolate communities. They are equally affected by subsequent drought years, which come as regularly as El Nino and bring with them forest fires. The Building a Sustainable Way of Life Project is turning the threat of El Nino into a major opportunity for families living in the dry forest. During the yet years, the project replants trees, bushes and pastures; builds grain storage sheds and improves housing conditions to protect against heavy rains. Communal wells are being improved, and equipment is provided to ensure the availability and quality of water in yet years and dry.

Quinoa Craze Dents Access in Bolivia

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Bolivians have lived off the Andean plant quinoa for centuries, but recent “discovery” by nutrition-hungry American and European consumers has hurt access for the small farmers who produce it, says a recent article in the New York Times.

A chenopod related to species like beets and spinach, NASA scientists recently touted its exceptional balance of protein and amino acids as virtually unrivaled in the plant or animal kingdom for its life-sustaining nutrients.

The good news: Increased demand has helped raise farmers’ incomes in one of the hemisphere’s poorest countries. Bolivian laborers who had traveled to cities or to Argentina and Chile for paychecks are now able to return to work their land and make a fair living raising quinoa.

The bad news: Fewer Bolivians can now afford it, hastening their embrace of cheaper, processed foods and raising fears of malnutrition in a country that has long struggled with it.

President Evo Morales said he planned to make more than $10 million in loans available to quinoa producers, and health officials are incorporating the plant into foods supplied to thousands of pregnant and nursing women each month.

Marcelo Alvarez of Heifer Bolivia says that as prices increase, the indigenous people (Aymara and Quechua) who traditionally grew and consumed quinoa and others who used to eat it regularly now prefer rice and noodles.

Heifer Bolivia continues to work with its partner the Bolivian Center of Educational Research and Action in El Alto, Bolivia to educate urban children about the nutritional benefits of traditional foods such as quinoa over processed foods. Rising prices that discourage healthy eating make our work even more challenging.

“We work with parents, teachers and students,” says Nora Mengoa, the educational research center’s project coordinator. “We pass on the gift of knowledge; we try to change their eating habits which aren’t serving them now.”

Read more about Heifer projects in Bolivia in a previous World Ark article here.