CHOCOLATE TREEThe Chocolate Tree chronicles the natural and cultural history of Theobroma cacao and explores its ecological niche. Tracing cacao's "journey" out of the rain forest, into pre-Columbian gardens, and then onto plantations adjacent to rain forests, Allen M. Young describes the production of this essential crop, explaining how the seeds are extracted from the large, colorful pods. He details the environmental price of Europeanized cultivation, and ways that current reclamation efforts for New World rain forests can improve the natural ecology of the cacao tree. Recounting more than a dozen years of ecological fieldwork in and around cacao plantations in Costa Rica, Young reviews his research into the problem of poor levels of natural pollination on plantations. He recalls encounters with sloths, toucans, butterflies, giant tarantula hawk wasps, and other creatures found in cacao groves. Among these creatures Young discovered a tiny fly that provides a vital link between the chocolate tree and its original rain forest habitat. This discovery leads him to conclude that cacao trees in cultivation today may have lost their original insect pollinators due to the plants' long history of agricultural manipulation. |
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Page 64
... Lola , was the principal research site for my later studies on cacao pollination . The La Lola Farm , near Siquirres in the Limón Province , was donated to CATIE by the United Fruit Company in the 1960s with financial assistance from ...
... Lola , was the principal research site for my later studies on cacao pollination . The La Lola Farm , near Siquirres in the Limón Province , was donated to CATIE by the United Fruit Company in the 1960s with financial assistance from ...
Page 113
... Lola and assisted with the study . We introduced the colonies into the La Lola cacao for six days in September , forewarning the farm workers to stay clear of the colonies for this period . Four of the colonies were set up along one ...
... Lola and assisted with the study . We introduced the colonies into the La Lola cacao for six days in September , forewarning the farm workers to stay clear of the colonies for this period . Four of the colonies were set up along one ...
Page 121
... Lola , sits nestled within a valley between the mountains south and east of the Meseta Central , about an hour and a half from San José along a twisted and curved mountain road . The fertile mountain slopes , rich with coffee and sugar ...
... Lola , sits nestled within a valley between the mountains south and east of the Meseta Central , about an hour and a half from San José along a twisted and curved mountain road . The fertile mountain slopes , rich with coffee and sugar ...
Contents
The Cultivation of Cacao Past and Present | 14 |
Cacao and Agriculture in Costa Rica | 48 |
Excursions into the Natural History of Cacao and Cacao Plantations | 80 |
Copyright | |
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13th Dalai Lama agricultural Amdo areas Avalokitesvara banana betan Bhutan Bön Bönpo Buddha Buddhist cacao flowers cacao plantations cacao trees celibate centers Central America central Tibet century ch'öpa Chapter Chinese chocolate clerical cocoa context Costa Rica cultivation cultural patterns Dalai Lama developed Dingri Dorjé Drugpa Dzogch'en early Ekvall Enlightenment gall midges Gelugpa Geshé gompa Guru Rimpoch'e Indian insects K'am Kagyüdpa Karma Karmapa Ladakh Lama's Lhasa Lhasa government lineages Mahāyāna major meditation Milarepa monastery monastic gompa monks nature Nepal Norbu Nyingmapa Orientation pods political pollination practitioners prajñā premodern rain forest rebirth region reincarnate lama religious Rimed ritual role rulers Sakya Sakyapa samsāra seeds shamanic Sherpa siddhas Snellgrove species Sūtras Tantra Tantric Tantric deities Tantric practice teachings terma tertön texts Theobroma Theravadin Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan population Tibetan religion Tibetan societies tion tradition trapa tropical trulku Trungpa Tsongk'apa Vajrayāna village wild cacao yogic yogins