Khmer & Indigenous Cacao Farmers

As cacao farmers in Cambodia we are operating with other Khmer cacao farmers but also with members of different tribal communities, like the Krung and the Bunong. For the website bartalks.net I wrote an article about these experiences and also about our plans with indigenous groups in Malaysia. If you are interested, you can checkContinue reading “Khmer & Indigenous Cacao Farmers”

One tomato for one cacao?

We can be grateful to Ferdinando de Medici for giving the Florentine Codex its more than well-deserved place because it provides a wealth of knowledge not only about Aztec thought and the realm of the gods but also about more ‘earthly’ things such as animals, stones, colors, precious metals and, yes … cacao. And here,Continue reading “One tomato for one cacao?”

Prison Passport (NL editie)

Deze schokkende autobiografie vertelt het verhaal van een Nederlander die acht maanden opgesloten zat in een van de meest afgelegen en primitieve gevangenissen van Azië in de hooglanden van Cambodja, omdat zijn Vietnamese ex-geliefde een afschuwelijke misdaad had gepleegd op een klein jongetje waar in de hele wereld met afschuw op was gereageerd. De CambodjaanseContinue reading “Prison Passport (NL editie)”

The Cacao Link Between Suriname, Curacao, Ceylon and Malaysia

Considering the arrival of experimental cacao in Ceylon in the first half of the 18th century, and taking into account the start of commercial cacao production in Suriname by the Dutch in the same period, it seems plausible that Dutch traders brought the cacao tree not from Venezuela but from some of the first DutchContinue reading “The Cacao Link Between Suriname, Curacao, Ceylon and Malaysia”

The Dutch Cacao Route To Asia

On 2 June 1603, Dutch admiral Joris van Spilbergen stood before King Vimaladharmasuriya I of Kandy (Ceylon, Sri lanka). Van Spilbergen had just arrived after a 12-months journey that brought him from Veere, in the Netherlands to Kandy. Apparently, the admiral made a good impression, because the two immediately developed a close friendship. The King even became curious about theContinue reading “The Dutch Cacao Route To Asia”

Live to 100! The Secret Formula from a Remote Archipelago

In 1944, Benjamin H. Kean was a 32-year-old army surgeon stationed in the Panama Canal Zone by the US army. Later he would play a disputed role in the Iran hostage crisis as physician to the exiled Shah. But in WWII he was an unknown doctor who, one quiet day decided to visit the islands ofContinue reading “Live to 100! The Secret Formula from a Remote Archipelago”

Who Were The Cacao Pioneers of Africa?

It was a hot day in the year 1822 on the tiny Portuguese island São Tomé, 200 kilometers from mainland West Africa. Governor João Baptista de Silva e Lagos was personally present in the harbour to witness a merchant ship arrive from Brazil. The ship carried a valuable cargo, ordered by King João VI ofContinue reading “Who Were The Cacao Pioneers of Africa?”