John and I went to Peru in June to install a TCHOSource FlavorLab at the co-op ACOPAGRO, as invited guests to ACOPAGRO's 12th anniversary celebration. To be sure that it would all arrive in time for the festivities, everyone at TCHO pitched in so I could hand carry all the lab equipment as checked luggage. The official air cargo weight of the FlavorLab was 109 kilos – whew!
It was a whirlwind week in the beautiful (and sweltering) Huallaga Valley – between lab installation, workshops, meetings with government officials and farm visits, the portion of my Spanish vocabulary related to hardware stores, press releases and soil conservation grew by leaps and bounds. (3/8” drill bit, anyone? Hinge mount?)
My favorite part was getting to work and joke with our Peruvian colleagues in person - the talented Aldo, Twyggie, Guido and Gonzalo. Our meetings in the field took place lined up like sardines in the back of a pickup truck, shouting over the unpaved jungle roads – a nice change from Skyping back and forth with engineering specs and financial spreadsheets. They are as serious about serving farmers and as enthusiastic about new technology and flavor discovery as we are.
My lower back finally forgave me for schlepping the aforementioned 109 kilos when about 500 cocoa farmers, local government officials, cocoa buyers and US AID management attended the official inauguration of the FlavorLab, where John was one of the keynote speakers. The farmers and the coop were really appreciative and TCHO is gaining a lot of traction in Peru, where we are already on the way to making a difference in farmer's lives and in the quality of the cocoa we buy.
In the end, I left feeling proud to call ourselves business partners and friends – and with a renewed sense of responsibility to those relationships. In so many ways we at TCHOSource are standing on the shoulders of giants. The human and social capital that the co-ops, farmers and the public sector have painstakingly built over the past 12 years is at the root of the economic sustainability that is unfolding in the region, and we get to help take it to the next level.
As Timothy said in an earlier blog - What an amazing time we live in. What a great moment to participate.
TCHO-A-Day 30
Hot and Cold Drinking Chocolate
TCHOPro Baking Drops 68% (8oz)
Discover the Flavors of Chocolate Collection
Field Trip
John and I went to Peru in June to install a TCHOSource FlavorLab at the co-op ACOPAGRO, as invited guests to ACOPAGRO's 12th anniversary celebration. To be sure that it would all arrive in time for the festivities, everyone at TCHO pitched in so I could hand carry all the lab equipment as checked luggage. The official air cargo weight of the FlavorLab was 109 kilos – whew!
It was a whirlwind week in the beautiful (and sweltering) Huallaga Valley – between lab installation, workshops, meetings with government officials and farm visits, the portion of my Spanish vocabulary related to hardware stores, press releases and soil conservation grew by leaps and bounds. (3/8” drill bit, anyone? Hinge mount?)
My favorite part was getting to work and joke with our Peruvian colleagues in person - the talented Aldo, Twyggie, Guido and Gonzalo. Our meetings in the field took place lined up like sardines in the back of a pickup truck, shouting over the unpaved jungle roads – a nice change from Skyping back and forth with engineering specs and financial spreadsheets. They are as serious about serving farmers and as enthusiastic about new technology and flavor discovery as we are.
In the end, I left feeling proud to call ourselves business partners and friends – and with a renewed sense of responsibility to those relationships. In so many ways we at TCHOSource are standing on the shoulders of giants. The human and social capital that the co-ops, farmers and the public sector have painstakingly built over the past 12 years is at the root of the economic sustainability that is unfolding in the region, and we get to help take it to the next level.
As Timothy said in an earlier blog - What an amazing time we live in. What a great moment to participate.
Remark (1)
Joselyn Staley:
I am interested in bringing our Campers in for a tour this Summer.
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