Cocoa is a big cash crop around here. The sent of drying/ fermenting cocoa beans lining the roads can not be escaped. Last Friday our adventures took us to the cocoa grove of Usta a friend of mine, where we would learn how to harvest. The kids were excited, as was I despite my apprehension about how buggy it would be. I am a bug magnet even in the states and on the equator in a place that gets a good bit of rain... well lets just say the first couple of weeks here I could have easily been mistaken for someone with chicken pox. Even bug spray does not seem to deter these pests from their quest for my blood. I have learned to be prepared. I wore pants under my skirt, socks with my crocks, as well as long sleeves. It was toasty but dampness is preferable to the itch and I could cocoa harvest anxeity free. So we began. Usta showed us how to identify the ripe ones by color. Jack could be seen with the long handled pod picker while others used pangas (large knifes) and other like myself picked them off the ground. Once the pile was assembled we all gathered for the debeaning. There was much laughing and chatting in Lubwisi what I could not understand, these people love to have a good time, even while they work. Pods were cracked with the panga revealing the white gewy beans, then passed on to us to be scooped into a basin or piled on a banana leaf. The empty pod is simply chucked over the shoulder (these pods double as bug dream homes) As we worked we snacked on the sticky beans. You can put them in your mouth the residue is a sweet/sour milky sensation. The left over bean is just spit back into the basin. All in all the excursion was a “sweet” experience ending in a gift of sugar cane from Usta for our help!
Just another day in the life of a R.A.T. (Rwenzori adventure trainee)...
UNRIPE COCOA
