An International Paradise

Last week something amazing happened…

MayaPoint was packed full!

Erick, myself, and Aashman     were joined by

Roman from Switzerland 

Ben and Ali from Ontario 

Yoni and Gaya from Israel 

Bryan and Tristan from Vermont/Rhode Island 

Iva from Czech Republic 

and Luccia from Slovakia 

This is it… MP is and international learning center. We all came together to share our funds of knowledge and work to build up the community housing as well as care for the gardens and food forest.

There was a lot of rain in the last weeks, so most of the cabin work was focused on finishing the drainage system to prevent the bedrooms from flooding. I’ve never seen such a pretty ditch 🙂

The retaining wall has been a huge (or should I say “heavy”) challenge, since all of the rocks had to be collected from around the property and brought in a wheelbarrow to the cabin. Here, our friend and amazing worker, Sandalio (also known as Don Gordo) work diligently to stack them neatly into what will soon be a living wall. The space between the rocks allows plants to weave their roots through, holding the rocks firmly into place… he even up-cycled some old glass bottles that we found along the seaside.

   

It was a full moon, and according to the ancient knowledge, now was the perfect timing for pruning the cacao trees. Even in the pouring rain, the volunteers got their machetes and pruning shears and took to the jungle, making our trees healthier than ever and ready to give us a big yield next month.

 

We went to Rana Azul for pizza on Sunday and stopped for a swim on the way home at our friends’ farm CocoVivo. They have a diving board off their dock, which instigated quite the show. Tristan busted out the double backflip, while some of us were content just making a big splash.

  

We spent our afternoon checking out the starfish and coral reefs around the CocoViva dock before the sun went down.

  

Of course, it’s not a trip to the cacao farm without making some experiments in the kitchen. There were four variations of brownies in less than two weeks, and Gaya made us the best hot cocoa I’ve ever had! She grated coconut to make coconut milk, added fresh ginger from our garden, cinnamon, and MP cacao. (Tip: hot chocolate should be simmered for a little while to really get the full flavor of the cacao).

Last Sunday Veronica, Sandalio and the kids came over to make coconut oil with us. Erick took the volunteers out in the Kakau boat to collect the dry coconuts around the shores of Shepard Island. Everyone worked to peel and shred the cocos and Sandalio made the milk to cook down into pure oil.

 

While we waited for the milk to simmer over the fire we peeled and ground the last batch of cacao. It was a great end to an eventful couple of weeks with our friends from all over the world.

 

Every experience at MayaPoint is motivated by our collective desire to care for the Earth and strengthen the bonds within our community.

Our plan for the next month is to paint and decorate Valle del Agua Elementary in preparation for the new school year. Come help us paint, learn, play and explore the possibilities of conscious living…  Please spread the word and share our fundraiser link so we can purchase some paint! Help us make some special kids have an awesome school experience:)     http://www.gofundme.com/2jccq8

Making Chocolate the Native Panamanian Way

We knew when coming to Maya Point that there was an abundance of cacao trees. While hiking through the  food forest, we were awestruck to still be counting after the 450^th tree!

These poor trees have been neglected for several years and needed a lot of care to reach their potential. They have the capacity to produce plentiful amounts of cacao!

So the work started by pruning on or right after the full moon. The locals recommended this for the trees to heal faster.  Tree sap flows downward from the branches into the trunk and roots of the tree as the moon is waning.

Our volunteers got together their pruning tools, machetes, and plenty of insect protection. Then, it was off to work in the jungle!

Pruning and picking are not easy jobs. The first challenge is to spot the ripe pods, which are the same color as the dry leaves. Then, using a long piece of bamboo with a sharp end, the cacao must be cut from their stem. A clean cut is very important so a new pod can grow from the same spot.

Shortly after our arrival on the island we met Veronica, a traditional chocolatera. We couldn’t wait to get together with her and let the dream unfold. To prepare for her visit the volunteers of Maya Point collected the ripe pods, varying in color from bright yellow to dark orange.

Veronica showed us the most effective method to open the pods with our machetes. The seeds inside are covered with a deliciously sweet pulp that you can just suck off as a little treat, but in order to make chocolate, this pulp has to stay intact.

We removed all of the seeds and pulp from some 80 to 100 cacao pods, and put them in wood boxes that were lined with several layers of banana leaves. The piles of seeds and pulp were then covered with more banana leaves and left in a shady, dry area. The sugars, naturally occurring yeasts and bacteria began to ferment and produce heat. The aroma of chocolate/wine/cheese mingled in the air after a few days. All of my previous research instructed to turn the piles every couple of days, but Veronica told us not to. She said that it wasn’t necessary.

After four days we took everything out of the fermenting boxes. The seeds were spread out on a drying table where they dried for the next eight days. The funny thing about cacao processing is that it is an art, not a science. A chocolatera must be constantly monitoring the progress of the batch in relation to changes in the weather. We had a few sunny days so we took the table out into the sun and put it back under cover at night to protect it from potential rainfall.

So the day came to roast the cacao beans. Veronica, her son Juan Pablo, her husband, Sandalio and their nephew, Roberto came over to our place. They built a small fire and placed a cast-iron pot on it. The dry beans were placed in the pot in smaller batches and stirred occasionally until they were all evenly toasted—at least in theory. Some of this batch got pretty burnt as we were all chatting and enjoying ourselves. (We live and learn)

By roasting the cacao, the shells are easy to peel and the bean just falls apart into nibs. We enjoyed our fair share of plain nibs and moved on the next step, which was grinding them into cocoa liquor.

The true indigenous method is to use a mortar and pestle, but to speed things up a bit, we used a hand-crank corn mill. The dark, shiny, aromatic cocoa liquor flowed out like hot lava. The heat produced by the grinder melts the cocoa butter, giving the product a consistency like cake batter.

Several hours of this work, a chocolate cake with avocado-cacao icing, good times with our new neighbors, and a pot of lentil stew were the recipe for strengthening bonds in our community and (bonus!) the organic base for some amazing goodies to come out of the Maya Point kitchen!

Since Veronica, Sandalio and the boys left, we have been experimenting non-stop. Erick and I have replaced our morning coffee with hot cocoa. We agree that it gives us a cleaner boost than coffee, no jitters.  I made energy bars that are my natty twist on Mom’s no-bake cookies (that’s powdered sugar sprinkled on top, compliments of the 2 year old Maya Point baker’s assistant).

I made raw brownies (Thank you Jessica for the amazing recipe!) with banana, honey and cacao frosting.  Multiple versions of chocolate toppings have dressed our French Toast, cakes, and coconut bread, using avocado or coconut oil as a base.

OH! I almost forgot to mention that I made my first bean to bar chocolate!!!  I ate so much of it that first day that I felt intoxicated, then later hungover. I have learned to respect the Food of the Gods, or else endure the WRATH!

We would also like to thank our volunteers and neighbors who helped through the whole process, muchas gracias!!

Our next step is to find another chocolatier to mentor us in the bean to bar process. We have another batch of cacao fermenting. This time we’ll change a couple of variables in our experiments and see how it affects the flavor.

We need your help through this journey… Volunteer or please contribute in any way possible to help make this organic traditional chocolate factory a reality and provide more jobs to the local community!

http://www.gofundme.com/2jccq8