Darien Part 5: We did some work too

Charlie and I teach about how you can use your cook fire as an oven

Charlie's community was awesome- over 40 people came to our Baking & Business class!

"So now we wait?" ... "Yes, but it's worth it."

Since my trip to the Darien was work-based, we made sure to plan some charlas in local communities.  After talking to the two agriculture volunteers, we decided to do an Introduction to Cacao/Baking and Business hybrid for Charlie's community and a Personal Finance session for the women in Sam's.  

Since both were sessions that I've taught multiple times, I was able to relax a little bit more and get to know the communities.  Since I generally work with groups of people that tend to be a little more shy and reserved, it was awesome to introduce topics to the outgoing Emberá.  As it turns out, they have cacao trees, but almost nobody knows how to care for them or process the beans into chocolate.  

And then this perfect Peace Corps moment happened:

Older gentleman: "There's this fungus that grows on my cacao and burns it.  Does anyone else have that problem?"

Me: "Actually, it's a fungus called Monilia and it's all over Central America."

Older gentleman: "Well I want to be better, so what can I do to control it?"

Me: "You can cut the damaged cacao pods off the trees because they're permanently damaged and can spread the disease to other pods."

Older gentleman: "Hm.  Well if they can spread, shouldn't I also bury them?"

YES!!!

Though it may not seem like that big of a deal, I can't put into words how frustrated I've gotten trying to get cacao farmers in my area to adopt simple techniques in the past year.  It's a fight just to convince them how beneficial cutting damaged pods off their trees can be- so to have a farmer come up with the idea of then burying them (which is ideal!!) was super encouraging.  

Panamanians love skits.  They think we're hilarious no matter what we do, so when Sam came out in a women's paruma skirt and I came out in a men's loincloth, they just about lost it.  

Cash flow practice

One of the ice-breakers we played was telephone... though I'm not sure they quite understood how to play since we ended up with the phrase (in Emberá) "What do we say now?"

Stakeholders & Ice Cream

I think it's pretty obvious that I love my job as a National Agribusiness Coordinator for Peace Corps Panama.  So far I've spent most of my time doing community visits, training new volunteers, and developing materials.  A few weeks ago I had another great work opportunity- I was invited to be a part of the semi-annual Stakeholder's meeting for Peace Corps Panama's Sustainable Agricultural Systems program! 

About 20 stakeholders gathered for 3 days in Santiago, Veraguas to talk about how we can work together and plan projects for the upcoming year.  There was a great group of people present that I was really excited to work with- my boss, Aimee, the other coordinators (Zoe for Cacao, Jed for Fish and Rice Tanks, and Elena for Agribusiness,) a few other volunteers to represent all regions of Panama, several community members, and representatives from many of the Panamanian agencies that we work with.  

Zoe and I with our Bocas del Toro MIDA Representative

After Elena and I presented a short informational session on Peace Corps' agribusiness program, we were excited to talk to various representatives from the Department of Agriculture, MIDA, about the many ways in which we can work together.  We even solidified a great work plan in Bocas in which I'll get to co-facilitate 11 agribusiness seminars in communities that MIDA is financially supporting.

  

And it wouldn't have been a Peace Corps gathering if certificates weren't handed out and copious amounts of ice cream wasn't eaten- so we made sure to take care of both of those things.  Can 6 volunteers put away 2 half gallons of ice cream and 6 frozen snickers bars in one setting?  Why yes, yes we can.

The Life of Chocolate

November is here and that means some awesome things are happening in Panama: Independence days (yes, plural) parades, random festivals, and most importantly... chocolate season.  

While chocolate (cacao) trees can produce fruit all year long, the biggest harvests are November-early January.  Having always been a chocolate lover, I was ecstatic to learn I'd be working with the production and processing of one of nature's most delicious fruits.  Though I've always preferred the business side of my job, even I have to admit that getting to work with each step of the chocolate process is pretty cool.

From pre-service training (PST) to chocolate week at in-service training to simply working with my neighbors in site, I've learned so much about chocolate this year and am excited to finally be blogging about it! 

Fun Facts

Cacao trees take 5 years to produce their first fruits, but can continue producing for ~50 years!

Ripe cacao pods are bright yellow, orange, and red and roughly the size of a nurf ball

The beans aren't brown- they're actually a deep purple until toasted

The milky white gel that surrounds each bean tastes like a watermelon jolly rancher

White chocolate is made by cooking the natural fats out of the darker chocolate

Cacao trees can only grow at certain latitudes 

The Ngäbere word for chocolate is Oreba

I can get a fist-sized ball of chocolate for 70¢... it's almost dangerous

Agroforestry

Cacao trees are generally started in small bags in a vivero- a tree nursery that provides partial shade and protection from the elements.  After a few months, they are ready to be planted in forested tropical areas with plenty of heat, sun, and rain.  Three-five years after planting, the trees should be producing their first harvests and with good care and maintenance can continue to produce chocolate for up to 50 years- though they generally produce their highest volume harvests between 10 and 20 years of age.  

Harvesting

Our trees produce the majority of their fruits between November and January, and when it's time to harvest, the whole family heads to the farm!  After being clipped from lower branches or guillotined off of higher ones, cacao pods are collected (usually in a backpack basket) and then cut open in order to get to the good stuff- cacao beans surrounded by a white, milky fruit. 

Processing

After being collected from their pods, cacao beans are fermented in wooden boxes for 3-7 days before being sun-dried for another ~10 days.  Some driers are much nicer than others and have rollaway rain covers or multiple floors, but the most basic option is a simple raised wooden platform.  Ideally, beans should be mixed with a wooden rake every few hours to ensure even drying.

Next, the cacao beans are toasted for up to an hour, thereby making your house smell wonderful. After they take a moment to cool off, the beans are then peeled.  At this point they're called nibs and can be eaten just like that.  They're pretty bitter and taste similar to a coffee bean.  To continue with the chocolate making process, the nibs are ground into a thick paste.  No liquids are added in this part- it becomes pasty thanks to all of the natural oils present in cacao!  If desired, you can then put the paste in molds (or banana leaves) to let them harden over the next few hours.  

Finally- chocolate!  Though expensive, modern machinery is needed to produce the smooth chocolate bars we buy in stores, there's something seriously delicious about eating the same chocolate you picked off the tree.   

Marketing and Selling

Depending on how the community intends to use or sell their cacao, from this point there's a few different routes they can take.  If they're using their cacao, the mothers of the family will likely heat the cocoa with water and sugar to make a dark hot cocoa which is delicious when cooked with lemongrass.  While some communities do sell fully processed chocolate bars, most sell the raw, dried beans to a cooperative or middleman who can then sell them on the international market.  Beans are usually cut in half and tested for moisture content and overall quality before an offer is made.  After that, the beans are packaged according to quality and are on their way to becoming the chocolate you know and love!

Interested in learning how to use cacao in baking or cooking recipes?  Check back next week for my favorite chocolate recipes!

Micro Finance in Panama

The week before my little Pneumonia fun I was invited to facilitate an agribusiness education seminar for recipients of micro-finance grants from MIDA (the Panamanian Ministry of Agriculture.)  

Ecstatic to be doing very official sounding work, my Agribusiness co-coordinator Elena and I made the trip to Santiago, Veraguas to meet with representatives from MIDA and the 30 or so seminar participants.

Each attendee was representing a small farmer's group from his or her rural town that had recently received a business development grant from MIDA and would be implementing agricultural projects to produce products such as organic meats, eggs, vegetables, and/or fruits.  

A few years ago the agribusiness coordinators developed a seminar series that we've continued to improve each year.  The series is a complete set of lessons and workbook activities for themes like accounting, marketing, product (line) improvement, personal and group finance, farm inventories, and costs of production.  Since almost all of the preparation and practice was done ahead of time (Elena and I have both given the charlas throughout Panama during our first year as volunteers,) we were free to take things easy and focus on getting to know the producers and what specific business themes we could help them with. 

Even though the training was a mandatory stipulation to receiving their grants, I was really impressed with the positive attitudes and participation we received from both men and women.  They brought up really great topics like how to manage group finances and pay dividends and how they could overcome logistical issues through marketing and vendor relationships.  

Throughout the week we received tons of positive feedback, and by the end of our seminar many of the attendees were asking how they could get their own Peace Corps volunteers! It was great to see Peace Corps in action in a different setting than usual, and reminded me how excited and proud I am to continue to work with such a great organization!  

One of my favorite sessions- the 5 P's of Marketing!

Signing participation certificates

What do Peace Corps Agribusiness Volunteers do in Panama?

When I think back to the months leading up to my Peace Corps service, I can still clearly remember how concerned I was about my future work.  I was passionate about business, helping people, Spanish, and travel and had asked my recruiter to find me a placement where I could use all of those skills and hobbies. 

Since only 20% of volunteers are currently serving in Spanish speaking countries and Community Economic Development is one of the smaller programs within Peace Corps (Education, Health, and Environmental programs are all larger) I gave the placement team quite a task.  When they assigned me to serve as a Sustainable Agricultural Systems Extension Agent in Panamá, I called to let them know they had likely mixed me up with another candidate.  Other than living in the country, I had zero experience in agriculture. 

What I didn’t yet know was that Peace Corps Panama’s Sustainable Agricultural Systems, SAS, Program was in the process of increasing the business/entrepreneurial advising work that volunteers take part in in order to work towards the program’s goal of improving agribusiness practices in rural Panama (The other two goals relate to improved staple crops and agroforestry practices.)

Though it may vary year-by-year, recently the Panama placement teams have been selecting about 20 SAS volunteers with more traditional agricultural experience, and 5 or so with a background in business. 

I posted about one of my typical workdays a few months ago, but the work that volunteers do varies tremendously by volunteer and by site throughout the country.  In preparation to train incoming SAS volunteers on what we do in the agribusiness program, I made a video highlighting some of the many agribusiness related projects that volunteers have been working on here in Panama.  While it is certainly not all encompassing, I think it’s a great overview of what Peace Corps Agribusiness Volunteers do in Panamá. 

To summarize what many of us said, here are some of the activities a SAS volunteer in Panama may find him or herself doing:

• Giving personal and group financial training
• Training interested group or community members in computer programs like Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Email
• Assisting with group organization
• Training on the function and roles of board and group members
• Official group establishment support (There’s a long paperwork process to this here in Panama)
• Advising the producers on how to improve their products
• Value can be added by improving the production process or by lengthening the production process: 2^nd rate cacao -> 1^st rate cacao; cacao -> chocolate bars
• Directing producers on how to manage and/or improve their product line
• Assisting with logistical challenges (We live in some pretty out-there places!)
• Connecting producers with potential buyers
• Teaching producers how to maintain positive and sustainable client relationships

As you may have noticed from my posts, many of us like to work both in and out of our communities.  Interested volunteers can apply for Work Related Leave to travel to other Peace Corps sites to help with casual informative sessions, charlas, in just about any topic relating to agribusiness/money/finance.  For example, I’ve recently been helping several community water groups to organize their resources and financially plan for the implantation and maintenance of their new aqueduct systems.  Though it’s not quite “agri-business,” the SAS volunteers in Panama are some of the only ones who receive relevant training during PST. 

So what about if you’re really into business and especially love working with new communities?  If that’s your case, you could apply to be a National Agribusiness Coordinator for the SAS Program!  Usually formed as an East/West pair, the Peace Corps Agribusiness Coordinators are given additional support and a travel budget in order to spread agribusiness knowledge throughout the country.  Duties include:

• Train incoming volunteers in relevant agribusiness practices in Panama during their PST (Pre-Service Training) and IST (In-Service Training)
• Develop positive relationships with related government agencies and NGO’s
• Support volunteers in their in-site work through site visits, seminar assistance, and additional training
• Develop new training materials and techniques to be shared through Peace Corps Panama’s Agribusiness Manual
• Serve as the point person for volunteers and staff for any questions or resources related to agribusiness

If you’re a future volunteer with an interest in business or a SAS volunteer coming to Panama, there are two important takeaways I want you to have.

First, just because you’re not enrolled in a business program does not mean you won’t get to do business related projects during your service.  One of the great things about Peace Corps is that it is what you make it.  If you want to work in business, do it! 

Secondly, if you’re a SAS volunteer, I can almost guarantee you that some business-related project will come up throughout your service, even if you’re intent on working 100% on the more agricultural side of things.  So, don’t zone out during your agribusiness trainings and don’t be afraid to ask one of the agribusiness volunteers for help if you need it; Goodness knows we’ll need yours when it’s time to fertilize the yucca! 

Business on the Beach

As I wrote about a few months ago, in addition to working as a community volunteer, I was also selected to serve as Peace Corps Panama’s Agribusiness Coordinator for the west side of the country.  It’s no secret I love to travel and meet new people, so I’ve really been loving my new job, which is essentially that plus business education- great, right?  I get work-related leave + travel expenses to visit volunteers on the west side of the country (Bocas del Toro, the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, and Veraguas) and help out with any type of business or finance education/projects that are going on in their communities.

One of the four Peace Corps programs currently working in Panama is Environmental Health, which builds aqueducts and latrines and works in health & sanitation.  Many of those volunteers (there are about 50 in Panama and 15 in my region alone) are required to hold Water Committee Seminars in their site to teach community leaders organizations and basic skills in water system construction, maintenance, and basic finance.  Since I’ve been begging asking people to invite me to their sites, I’ve gotten to help with the organization and finance sections of several different seminars in my region. 

A few weeks ago my friend Colleen stayed with me on the way to help out with my neighbor, Travis’s, site and brought her pup, Oso (“bear”).  Of course, when she invited me to spend a weekend in her site, Massy couldn’t be left behind. 

Our gas station brought a whole new meaning to "on the water"

Since he hates being left behind, he loved actually getting to go along this time.  He was such a champ with the boat ride and new environment, and he loved the beach.  The seminar was two days, and while Colleen, Dylan (a new Environmental Health volunteer), and I taught different topics during the day, Massy and Oso waited patiently for the afternoons which they knew would bring walks to the beach.  

Colleen's site is awesome- it's situated on a peninsula between a bay and the beach, and thanks to it's convenient location there are several community groups working on establishing eco-tourism programs.  There's even a restaurant on the beach!  Our charlas went really well and I'm looking forward to returning and seeing how I can help the tourism groups.  

In the meantime, you should check out Colleen's blog.  It's a beautifully written blog full of photography and intriguing  posts about life in her community that really captures the essence of being a volunteer in this part of Panama.