2023 Harvest Report--Flooding
Hello and good day!
A few weeks back, I sent out an update on the 2023 cacao harvest.At that time, I mentioned how much our cacao farm partners were enjoying and appreciating an unseasonable dry spell. It was good for a lot of reasons, many of which I outlined in that message.
Now, things have taken a turn for the worse.
It looks like that dry spell was the literal calm before the storm.A cyclone has hit Peru and many parts of the country are flooding.You can hear and see what is going on in the big cities by getting online and taking a look at the news.
You won't get any reporting about where we do business though, because it is such a small and remote place. As I've written many times before, there is just one road heading out of the district of Huarango, which is where we buy cacao.
Head in one direction and the road takes you to the city of San Ignacio and then on to Ecuador. Head in the other direction, and the road takes you to Jaen. Jaen is closer and bigger and that is where most folks out in campo go for certain necessities of life.
Unfortunately, the road out of campo is currently flooded and there is no way out. This is in addition to the widespread damage being caused by hard, unceasing rain.There are mudslides in the roads.
Hard rain is washing away recently planted crops and decreasing the productivity of mature plants. The rudimentary tin roofs that most cacao farmers use on their homes are rusting and springing leaks.
This has always been one of the really hard things to accept about our project. We pay extremely high prices for cacao, and this has helped to improve a lot of lives. In particular, the higher prices we pay have facilitated new educational opportunities and better medical care.
However, you cannot take advantage of those opportunities if you are physically stuck in a place where those things aren't available. You can have all the money in the world, but if you can't get in a car and drive to a hospital to see a good doctor, it doesn't really matter.
And there is nothing we can do by selling chocolate to help alleviate this issue. We can't stop hard rain or make large scale infrastructure improvements. This is when you start seeing people getting fatally ill from infections and sicknesses that we cure without giving it a second thought in the US.
On the news, they are reporting that the intense rain is just getting started. This is causing great consternation for our friends out in the district of Huarango. They don't know what to expect. They don't know how long this dangerous situation will go on for.
I'll continue to give updates for the next several weeks.Here is one of the primordial facts of life. You don't choose where you are born. If you are born in the northern Peruvian jungle then you will grow up in an environment where heavy rains may threaten your life.
If you are born somewhere else, your circumstances will be different. But it is out of your hands. That is why I very deeply believe in philanthropy. People who are able should help others who are in need.
Of course, there is a time and a place for this. If a person has squandered natural advantages through bad behavior, that is one thing.
A hard-working cacao farm family who does all they can day in and day out, providing the raw ingredients for wonderful, delicious chocolate, who gets hit with a huge rainstorm is worthy of help.
We are going to wait and see how things play out, but we may do a charitable fundraising drive as we have in the past.
Anyhow, thank you so much for your time today and please take a moment to say a prayer or put some good energy into the world for the good people out there suffering from dangerous weather.
Thank you for your time today.
I hope that you have a truly blessed day!
Adam
Click here for wonderful chocolate made with pure Nacional cacao.
Follow us on Instagram - @fortunatono4