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April 2015
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CONTEMPORARY COCOA INNOVATORSDarril “Astrida” Saunders makes Exotic Caribbean Mountain Pride drinking chocolate. “From the lush mountains of Tamana Trinidad, comes an all natural artisan indigenous chocolate … which quietly lends a hand in healing common ailments and peacefully soothes mind, body and spirit.” Astrida recently travelled to New York to speak at the Clinton Foundation “No Ceilings” event.
Lesley Ann Jurawan manages Delft Cocoa Plantations situated in Gran Couva's Montserrat Hills, and is part of the Montserrat Cocoa Farmers Co-operative Society. She is the master chocolatier for the brand, Violetta’s Fine Chocolate. British-born Ashley Parasram is applying a new business model to the sale of cocoa derivatives and chocolate in Europe. He was featured in the Style issue of the Financial Times as “co-founder of the Riding Club London and a former international development specialist.” Parasram’s Trinidad and Tobago Fine Cocoa Company Limited signed an MOU with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and is set for an on-line launch on April 1, 2015 at www.ttchocolate.com. Singapore-born Gina Hardy, after ten years in accounting in London, married a Trinidadian, came to Trinidad and turned herself into a chocolatier. She creates Gina’s Truffles. Businessman Richard Trotman, James Burns, the Omardeens and Café Mariposa are some other examples of modern cocoa enterprise. These are the new breed of cocoa entrepreneurs. They bring business and marketing savvy, science and technology, to the industry which once produced beans for export. Their source for science is the Cocoa Research Centre based at The UWI in St Augustine. SCIENCE AND HISTORY OF THEOBROMA CACAOOn the CRC website, Darin Sukha, Research Fellow, lists uses for every part of the cocoa bean and pod, including but not limited to chocolate in all forms, jams, jellies, wine, vinegar, flavourings, pigments, mulch, moisturizing lotions and beauty aids. Cocoa also has its place in the lore that claims medicinal properties – against diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, rheumatism, parasites, snake bite and malaria, among others.
Frances Bekele, who is a germplasm specialist in the CRC at The UWI and has written extensively on the history of cocoa in Trinidad, agrees. “The Cocoa Research Centre has provided knowledge and support to many entrepreneurs, securing success and sustainability with science.” International companies like Cadbury and Mars Inc have long accessed the research carried out at CRC. This science began almost 100 years ago when the Imperial College of Agriculture (now the St Augustine campus of The UWI) established the Cocoa Research Scheme funded by the governments of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) Gold Coast (now Ghana), Grenada, Nigeria, Trinidad; and the firms Cadbury, Fry and Rowntree. The Scheme became the Cocoa Research Unit (now the Cocoa Research Centre). The arrival at UWI in 1991 of Pathmanathan Umaharan from Sri Lanka heralded the era of research in cowpea, pigeon pea, hot pepper and cacao. Umaharan became Professor of Genetics, and head of the CRC, which participated in an international project to map the DNA of a Criollo cocoa variety. This opened the possibilities that the Campus Principal, Professor Clement Sankat spoke of: “We need to rekindle interest in food and agriculture, particularly among younger people, and the work of the CRC can support this cause. Research and development, creativity and innovation would be what our university and our research must focus on if we are to make an impact.” The CRC has developed disease-resistant and more productive cacao varieties from the Criollo, Forastero, Trinitario and Refractario varieties. It also manages the International Cocoa Genebank Trinidad (ICG, T) which is a living collection of 2400 varieties of cacao on 33 hectares in Centeno, allocated by the Ministry of Food Production. The CRC recently developed its own brand of 70% chocolate, which they find hard to keep in stock. THE INTERNATIONAL FINE COCOA INNOVATION CENTREIn 2014, the CRC was successful in a partnership bid for funding from the EU, under the ACP Science and Technology Programme II for the establishment of the three-year IFCIC initiative. According to Umaharan, “The project has a twin mandate: the first is the positive impact of scientific and technological knowledge and research in the regional cocoa industry; the second is the collaboration of academia and the private sector to commission a physical innovation facility.” Speaking on behalf of Daniela Tramacere, the Charge d'Affaires of the EU Delegation to Trinidad and Tobago at the March 2015 conference, Kathrin Renner said, “The Caribbean is held in high regard as a cocoa-producing region for fine or aromatic (as opposed to bulk) cocoa. Fine flavour cocoa accounts for only 5% of world production and is concentrated in a few countries. “For cocoa production to be sustainable in the long term, we must embrace technology and innovation. The IFCIC will also focus on creating innovations along the value chain: production, processing, manufacturing and marketing. The EU sees innovation as a cornerstone of progress, and will continue to support Trinidad and Tobago to promote and use innovation as the tool towards a competitive and knowledge-driven economy. Our support to the IFCIC is very much in step with the new focus for development of this country.” The Innovation Centre does require additional funding for a centre of operations – a building – and it is hoped that corporate citizens will contribute. Private sector investments in this initiative are invited.
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