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How can one event about Chocolate be
both delicious and thought provoking!. Well that was my experience recently
when I joined Alliance for Cultural and Economic Exchange and the School of
International Business at Babson College.
Over eighty of us listened to Edison
Aquindo, a representative from the Rio Blanco indigenous community of
Ecuador, speak to the significance that cacao/chocolate crop has for the
economic sustainability for so many families in the region. He spoke of
their hopes and wishes to improve the lives of their people and the next
generation, while at the same time preserving their culture and rainforest.
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I then learned how cacao/chocolate looks
on the tree, how it grows and more importantly the pain staking hard work to
slowly labor the bean to ultimately a delicious bite. We then tasted in a
blind study, six different chocolates from around the world and I began to
appreciate the subtle differences of chocolate. Does it taste fruity, how
does it sound when it cracks, how does it melt on my palate, is it grainy,
waxy or smooth. |
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By the end of the evening, to my own
amazement, I had actually chosen the two chocolates as my favorites crafted
by our guests from Ecuador. I was amazed how in a somewhat primitive
fashion of chocolate making, the indigenous community harvested and created
chocolate superior to Swiss, French, and Belgium gourmet chocolate! And
then to think that not only was I truly enjoying the chocolate but at the
same time honoring the entrepreneurial spirit of a group of people wanting
to enhance their community.
I walked away from the evening,
appreciating the values and vision this indigenous group had for themselves
against so many odds. I will never again eat chocolate lightly—but will
consciously appreciate the hard word it takes from seed to tree to its final
creation.
Toni Wolf
Member, International Food Group, Weston
Executive Director, Employment Options |
