Leben, und Arbeiten: Cocoa – The People Behind the Expensive Chocolate Bars

The explanation below is taken from the picture. If you manage to zoom out the picture, you might be able to read the explanation there.  I state my opinions on the “new” paragraph

Nowadays the number of cocoa farmers worldwide is estimated at between 5 and 6 million. However the number of people who are dependent on cocoa cultivation is far higher- It is estimated at between 40 and 50 million.

———- Are we among those who are dependent on cocoa plantation? I have never visited cocoa plantations yet, but someday I hope. The gap in numbers between the workers and those who are dependent on cocoa is way too much, I guess.

The living and working conditions of those cultivating cocoa differs greatly from region to region, and country to country. In addition to this, cocoa is cultivated either on large plantations or in smallholdings. Wage workers who often work in bonus system for low wages are employed on the major cocoa plantations.Fathers, mothers, and children are till the fields in order to earn maximum bonuses. The working conditions are poor, and the unprotected use of insecticides  and pesticides is commonplace.

———— Working in bonus system! hmm, that must be difficult. The minimum wage of Indonesia is low as well, around Rp. 1,000.000. I am not sure how low the wages of the cocoa workers are. I just can’t imagine the whole members of the family, even the little ones have to “feed” 40 million people who are dependent on cocoa. I am a fan of chocolate myself, and this information on the Schokolade ( Chocolate) Museum we went to in Cologne, Germany, has made me enjoy my chocolate bars in a different way, and feeling.

In addition to cocoa cultivation, those running small-holdings have the opportunity to cultivate plants for their own use. The supply of basic food is thus guaranteed. However the work is exhausting, and the income is low.Many farmers depend on their children’s assistance to get by.

—————-Some people here depend their lives on growing crops; like casava. In the areas where casava is planted by most villagers, they often plants for their own use. If only life were free, and one could get anything without money, then perhaps they would  mind having casava as their supply of basic food. I often watch their lives on a screen; they say “We eat casava nearly every day, we get bored sometimes, but  we don’t want to eat them all. We sell them to the market, and we get money.”

In general, those who cultivate and harvest the cocoa never have the opportunity to enjoy the end product the bar of chocolate.Experts estimate that approximately 75 % of cocoa farmers and their families have never tried a piece of chocolate.

———— I was a bit surprised when I read this. Before I read this, I had had completely different thoughts of how cocoa was planted, or produced. I thought the people who cultivate, and harvest cocoa would be given bars of chocolate, say, every month. This is kinda sad! cocoa farmers have never tried a piece of chocolate. Perhaps, they are happy with the way they live. Perhaps they are even bored with the aroma of cocoa already.

Cocoa farmers, and cocoa plantation workers, and their families are often amongst the poorest population groups in their native countries. They live in simple dwellings, usually without running water, and electricity. Schools, and hospitals are often far away, and hygienic conditions are catastrophic.

—————–Because rich people don’t want to work in cocoa plantations? too exhausting? I don’t know. I was a bit surprised when I saw the picture on this information board. I mean, I had never known before, the people behind the great taste of chocolate bars I sometimes taste. I had never imagined before, that behind the expensive bars of chocolate, there are people who are struggling so hard to raise their standard of living, I mean really in great efforts, perhaps more than I have ever thought of.

Enjoy your bars of chocolate!

Lu2Ar

The Art of Cooking : The Most “Killing” Recipe …

In general, I am often interested in trying to cook either new recipes or “old” ones. I might be like everyone else who collects recipes either from buying some recipe books, subscribing to magazines , watching cooking shows on TV and noting down the recipes shared by the

Rolled Chocolate Potates

hosts, creating scrapbooks with recipes taken from the internet: All you need to have is a printer. Sometimes you care so much about attractive recipe pictures that you want them printed in colors before sticking them in your scrapbooks; It has the advantage of saving budget on recipe books.

But, It’s often a temptation to grab some recipe books with imposing photos. And you often find such books are not that costly, plus sometimes they are not sealed; so you flip through, make a halt on one or two pages of interesting recipes to read a bit more about them. The instructions are often simple, well at least they sound so at first. And you decide to give it a try! buy the book, and start cooking in your lovely kitchen. See! how big your desire is to the art of cooking.

It’s hard to say NO to tasting new food (as long as the food doesn’t fall into a category of “against my rules of food”), but the joy of tasting new food won’t be as excited if I skip trying how to make it, especially if the taste of the food linger on in your mind over and over again. Of course, it’s not my rule to try each new food I just taste. But, I do it sometimes.

So, what happened with you after you bought the recipe books?

AT HOME..

The urge of reading the recipe books you just bought is so powerful that you are ready to pack your bag, and go shopping to buy some ingredients needed for the recipe(s) you urge to try. And try the recipe ASAP!

Considering over thousands of recipes, the option finally falls into “Cokelat Kentang Gulung” or “Rolled Chocolate Potatoes”. The instructions are read, the ingredients are bought, the kitchen is even twice readier than you.

IN THE KITCHEN…..

You start reading the instructions slowly. They only list a few numbers of instructions! how neat, easy and quick! snap your fingers as you get the whole idea on how to make it.

AFTER SOMETIME….

Scratching your head a few times! Taking a peek in the recipe once again, and saying “Oh, ya ya I see.” Then again, scratching your head while saying

“Why is this like this? is it supposed to be like this? they don’t tell anything about this.”

You thought you have measured everything correctly, but why the great-food-to-be turns out to be disaster-food-to-be?

MORE THAN SOMETIMES…

The temperature inside’s getting high, you’re sweating, hungry, tired, and perhaps cursing the author of the book for not giving any detailed instructions. Your lovely kitchen become a bit messier than usual time when you use it.

You convince your self that it’s your first time trying the food, so it’s kinda usual to have some failure. But you are nearly done! Go on!

A LITTLE MORE THAN SOMETIME…

Voila!! Your efforts pay off! The Rolled Chocolate Potatoes are ready to serve. A long sigh of relief is heard the entire room!

Does it sound so complicated? Well, in fact some recipe books don’t really tell you detailed instructions. For beginners, reading these instructions may not be easy. They will end up in frustration- OK this word is a bit too much, isn’t it? heheh. They might not consider putting this recipe into their favourite lists.

Lucky for advanced people who are used to spending their time in the kitchens and trying different kinds of food from A to Z, from East to West, from common ingredients to rare ones. These people have the ability to absorb information ( in this case, instructions) easily. They are experienced enough to know the Don’ts and the Do’s over mixed ingredients.

But there are some people who are blessed with talents in this field. Their “status” are not beginners, but directly on advanced levels , which mean they manage to succeed in their first try.

I’ve been thinking, more like a group of rhetorical questions to self.

Questions that determine your success in the Art of Cooking:

1. Is it your capability of understanding to-the-point instructions?

2. Is it your blessing to be born as talented ” reputable chef”?

3. Is it your experiences?

4.Is it your determination to succeed?

5. Or is it just the recipe books / instructions to blame?

Well, one thing I believe; over thousands of recipes one knows, one might encounter failure, and one at least has ever said

“This is the most “killing” recipe ever.”

Happy Cooking, and Let You Be A Wise Connoisseur ( one of these days)

Lu2Ar