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. |
From inside the book
Results 1-3 of 85
Page 117
... village societies was the household ( Aziz 1974 , 1978 : 117ff ) . All drongpa or full members of the village community belonged to a household within the village and bore its name . These full members are also referred to as tr'elpa ...
... village societies was the household ( Aziz 1974 , 1978 : 117ff ) . All drongpa or full members of the village community belonged to a household within the village and bore its name . These full members are also referred to as tr'elpa ...
Page 128
... village rotates between full village - member households in the Nepali ex- amples , as in Tibet . In both cases , it comprises an annual cycle of rituals concerning the local deities and the prosperity of the village's fields ( see ...
... village rotates between full village - member households in the Nepali ex- amples , as in Tibet . In both cases , it comprises an annual cycle of rituals concerning the local deities and the prosperity of the village's fields ( see ...
Page 319
... village temples and provide ritual services for the local lay population . Thus the village of Hemis Shugpachen in Ladakh has four village temples ( lhak'ang ) , three of them affiliated to Chemre , Rizong , and Likir . Caretaker trapa ...
... village temples and provide ritual services for the local lay population . Thus the village of Hemis Shugpachen in Ladakh has four village temples ( lhak'ang ) , three of them affiliated to Chemre , Rizong , and Likir . Caretaker trapa ...
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 | |
17 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
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