The Placencia Breeze
Page 6
croc corner
From the
Fire Hearth Your expert guide to all things edible in Belize.
CRC to Welcome International Conservation Experts in Belize
2018 Chocolate Fest in Toledo Reveals Concerns for Local Chocolate Economy
By LYRA SPANG, PhD Owner, anthropologist and tour guide Taste Belize Tours tastebelize@gmail.com
O
ur intrepid editor here at the Breeze has asked me for a chocolate report from the Deep South aka Toledo. Last month we celebrated the 11th Chocolate Festival of Belize. The festival took place May 18-20 in Toledo District, our southernmost district and the heart of the cacao cultivating industry. Since 1984 the modern industry has taken off, especially when the Toledo Cacao Growers Association began working with Green and Blacks Chocolate in 1992, catapulting Belizean cacao beans into the international spotlight as the key ingredient in the world’s first certified organic, certified fair trade chocolate bar. Thanks to this ground breaking collaboration Belizean cacao beans have become famous worldwide for
June 2018
their high quality and fruit forward, complex flavor profile. Reflective of this transformation, the original Toledo Cacao Fest has morphed into the more cosmopolitan sounding Chocolate Festival of Belize.
events, including chocolate grinding competitions and Maya cultural performances. I was not able to attend this event, as I was recovering from a somewhat strenuous hike to Victoria Peak the week prior.
Typically, the festival begins with a Friday night Wine and Chocolate evening with many chocolate companies offering free samples and free wine with the purchase of an entrance ticket. This year, this event was moved to Saturday night, and Friday night began with a musical bashment at the Punta Gorda Civic Center instead. On Saturday, Front Street in Punta Gorda town was closed to traffic as the famous Taste of Toledo street fair took place. (At the fair and at the Chocolate and Wine Night, I helped out our friends from San Felipe Village at the Ixcacao Maya Belizean Chocolate booth.) Locals and visitors enjoyed stalls showcasing cacao and chocolate products from edible treats to cosmetics. Of course, the street was lined with food vendors and the requisite cell phone and truck promo stands. Sunday the action moved to the beautiful Nim Li Punit Maya archaeological site for the last day of
Moving the Wine and Chocolate night to Saturday night was the biggest change for the Chocolate Festival this year; in theory, this should have made it easier for more people to attend, but it seemed to have had the opposite effect. There were simply not as many people as in earlier years, despite the presence of delicious chocolate samples, wine and a wonderful performance by the Panerrifix Steel Pan Orchestra. That said, it did please me to see some attendees visiting from as far north as Orange Walk. In years past, all the main chocolate companies of Belize have been found at the Chocolate and Wine night offering up samples, but not this year. Conspicuously absent were almost all immigrants or foreigner-owned chocolatiers, as well as Belizean-owned Ajaw and Cheil Chocolate companies. Belize ChocoSee CACAO CONCERNS on page 20
By DR. MARISA TELLEZ Co-founder and Executive Director Crocodile Research Coalition marisa.tellez@crcbelize.org
The Crocodile Research Coalition (CRC) traveled to Santa Fe, Argentina for the 25th Working Meeting of the International Union for Conservation of Nature/ Species Survival Commission - Crocodile Specialist Group (CSG). The CSG consists of 600 experts from around the world and “is a worldwide network of biologists, wildlife managers, government officials, independent researchers, non-governmental organization (NGO) representatives, farmers, traders, tanners, fashion leaders, and private companies actively involved in the conservation of the world's 24 living species of alligators, crocodiles, caimans and gharial in the wild. As one of more than 100 species specialist groups operating under the auspices of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world’s largest consortium of conservation organi-
zations and agencies, the CSG works closely with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and other international intergovernmental bodies to promote crocodilian conservation and legal trade that does not threaten the survival of these important reptiles. The CSG network of experts advises governments and wildlife management agencies, evaluates the conservation needs of crocodilian populations, initiates research projects, conducts surveys of wild populations, provides technical information and training, initiates conservation programs, etc.” CRC Research Coordinator Miriam Boucher presented her acoustic and behavior research of the American crocodile in Belize at the meeting, and CRC Research Associates Helen Sung and Sierra McLinn presented their work on hybridization between the Morelet’s and American crocodiles in Belize and the discovery of the crocodilian parasite life cycle, Sebekia mississippiensis. (This is the only TRUE parasite of crocodilians as it dissolves the lung tissue of their host, and Sierra discovered female parasites are See CROC CORNER on page 20
