Chocolate Week, de nuevo!

One of the things I most looked forward to during my training as a Peace Corps Volunteer was our cacao technical training- or, as I like to call it, Chocolate Week.  Since generally even the most educated and experienced agriculture volunteers have little experience working with tropical Panamanian crops like cacao, we receive an additional week-long, in-depth training a few months after arriving to our sites.  

Why the wait?  Well, sometimes you just have to experience life and work in your site to know what types of questions you need to be asking.  

Whereas the majority of Pre-Service Training is led by office staff, technical weeks during In-Service training are facilitated almost entirely by second year volunteers who have excelled in the main sub-project areas (Cacao, Coffee, and Rice and Fish Tanks).  One of my closest friends, Zoe, is the National Cacao Coordinator and together we chose to host cacao week (heretofore referred to as "chocolate week") in my site due to the relative ease of transport and local technical support.

So what did we plan for our volunteer visitors during chocolate week?  Nothing but five days of wonderful, chocolate bliss. Cacao volunteers have many projects working on both sides of the production chain ranging from farm planning to agroforestry techniques and finally (my favorite) chocolate processing and product marketing.  Since the volunteers focused on the earlier parts of the chain during Pre-Service Training, most of our week was focused on the latter steps.

Day 1 

The first day we reviewed the most tedious agroforestry technique-grafting, and also taught the volunteers about pruning since the trees weren't quite ready to be cut back until now.  

Grafting is a tricky technique that entails inserting a tiny part of a healthy tree into an older, lower producing tree.  If and when the new graft sticks, you'll eventually cut away the old tree and leave the new one to grow and take advantage of the older, more developed root systems.  This process can completely revitalize older farms, but is sadly hard to master. 

Cacao flowers-The very beginning of chocolate!

Day 2

To quote a Spanglish version of the 4-H motto, hay que (you've got to) "learn by doing." We took that to heart and threw the volunteers straight into the fire the second day by assigning them to plan and facilitate a Farmer's Field School for the producers in my site.  

Lucky for them, Zoe had pre-planned most of an amazing work-day that taught farmers how to make GPS maps of their farms and take inventories of the hundreds (or thousands) of trees that they have.  We had a very successful day and several other producers have already asked me to help with their farms next!  I'm almost jealous of the baseline data my follow-up volunteer will be inheriting...

Following a long day on the farm, we all came back to my house for my favorite part of the week- the "Chocolate Bar!"  We melted 100% cacao and dished bowls out to each volunteer who was then able to mix sweeteners (sugars, honey, and syrups), nuts, berries, and various other fillings and toppings to form their own chocolate bars (or lumpy balls, in our case). 

Day 3

To reward them for their hard work so far, we started the day off with a waterfall hike and homemade cinnamon rolls.  While enjoying our treats, we talked about the upcoming year and made work plans for the cacao projects they wanted to accomplish in their sites.  

After lunch, the volunteers helped out at one of my Baking and Business classes, where we made chocolate coconut cake and eagerly ate it while talking about the costs and potential profits of selling it.  

Day 4

Though my town has some pretty nice farms, we wanted to show the volunteers what an amazing farm looks like, so we made the "short" trip to Changuinola to tour a beautifully managed cacao farm.  A 30 minute hike, 20 minute bus ride, 40 minute bus ride, and 10 minute truck ride later we arrived at the farm where we saw tree nurseries, exemplary grafting and pruning, and perfectly planned rows.  

Since Peace Corps likes to work with host country governmental agencies, we also visited with our local branch of the ministry of agriculture to share our work plans for the coming year and talk about how we can work together to help local communities.

Day 5

Finally we arrived on the last day of chocolate week and once again made the trip out of my site- this time to take the famous Rio Oeste Chocolate Tour and then to meet with COCABO, the local cacao cooperative that most of our producers sell to.  

I was especially excited about the chocolate tour in Rio Oeste since it's both walking distance from my town (a long walk, but a walk nonetheless) and widely regarded as one of the biggest "must-do's" in the province of Bocas del Toro.  Though we didn't learn anything new on the farm tour, it was neat to see how the information was presented to tourists, and I could definitely taste a delicious difference in their chocolates from the ones produced in my town.  Since one of my community counterparts accompanied us on the tour, I'm excited to work with him in the future to determine which techniques and ideas we can implement for our producers as well. 

A Ngäbe farmer and his cacao dryer

Hiking along the Rio Oeste Chocolate Tour

A Ngäbe woman demonstrating the traditional way of grinding chocolate by hand

Narciso, one of my most active community members, accompanied us on our tour

Everyone loves chocolate

The new volunteers - Whitney + Zoe and I after tech week

So now it's one for the books (and the blog)- Chocolate week 2015 was a delicious success.  

Panama from Dad's Perspective

Imagine your daughter, a girl you love, cherish and have always tried to protect, moving to a Third World country (Abby’s note: Panama is not a third world country.  We’re considered “developing”), living in a community of local indigenous, with no electricity or running water (We usually have running water… it was just out during his visit), for 26 months.  Many Peace Corps parents have experienced this very phenomenon since 1962 when John F. Kennedy first created what has become a shining example of young Americans volunteering in the most difficult of circumstances.

Abigail “Abby” Lauren Bryant graduated from Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, Pennsylvania in May of 2013 with a degree in Business Administration.  A year prior to that, in May of 2012, she had decided to apply for a position with the Peace Corps, and after various levels of scrutiny, was accepted in February of 2013.  I was not surprised that she was accepted as she has always been very driven, setting goals and achieving them. 

As with many fathers, I always did my best to keep her safe.  We lived in very safe area, and I maintained contact with personnel at both her high school and college.  While trying not to be bothersome, I was known on a first-name basis.  Dave, the Vice President of Admissions at Saint Vincent, was my main contact and the individual who helped me to know that Abby was safe in college.

When you become a Peace Corps parent, it is very difficult because you truly fear for your child’s safety.  I could not pick up a telephone and check with a “Dave” to see how Abby was doing.  Because of the very poor cellular service where Abby was/is assigned, I also found that I could not call her whenever I felt the need or desire.  She would call if and when she had service.

I am grateful for the opportunities to visit Abby and her community and I would strongly encourage every Peace Corps parent to do the same.  Shortly after she left in June of 2013, we made arrangements for me to visit her for Christmas and New Year.

Abby lives in **** (for security reasons, I prefer not to share the name of my town online), Bocas del Toro, Panama.  Her village (“her people” as she so often refers to them) is populated by approximately 250 Ngäbe indigenous people.  It was during that first visit that I became comfortable with the fact that Abby was “safe.” In a conversation with Juan Castillo, the patriarch of a large family (10 children and untold grandchildren), translated by Abby, told me not to worry because when I was not with her, he was her “Father.”  I knew I could trust him and it certainly helped with some of my concerns.

There is a true sense of community in ****.  One of the most important things to do during both of my visits to her community was to pasear, that is, “To spend time with your neighbors.”  It is also part of the tradition to give the visitor something to eat or drink.  I enjoyed some truly interesting, local drinks of coffee, hot chocolate, and fresh coconut water that I drank straight from the coconut at the house of Pedro and Chevela.

Speaking of homes, as a visiting Peace Corps parent, I have felt very welcome into homes of people who speak a different language than me.  With Abby interpreting, I got to know many in her community, and I believed Abraham Castillo when he told me I was part of their community.  I had the opportunity to show my gratitude this most recent visit when I purchased a whole pig that was cooked over an open fire and served as part of the 2015 New Year celebration.  In addition to my many pictures with “Abby’s people”, some of my most prized possessions are the chakaras given to me Ramon and Avilia Tera and Juan Castillo’s family.  And last year, I was given the opportunity to purchase a hand-made hammock from Juan’s wife.  After I learned how many hours went into making the chakaras and the hammock, I can truly say that these gifts will be displayed in my own home with much pride.

As a Peace Corps volunteer, Abby has further developed her strong sense of character, has demonstrated an uncanny ability to do so much with so little, and has learned important lessons that will serve her the rest of her life.  I also know from talking with her that her fellow Peace Corps volunteers will be friends for life.

Is it hard to be a Peace Corps parent?  You bet it is.  However, the joy of seeing your child accomplish so much in a very trying atmosphere and the opportunity to share in her community is but one of the many trade-offs a parent gets when your precious daughter leaves for a place that seems, at times, unknown.

To my dad- Thanks for putting up with all the hiking, lack of amenities, and "extras" that come along with campo life!  I'm sure your visit will be the talk of the town for years to come... literally :)