Barlovento
The route of tradition of Carenero Superior
By Yuly Carreño
Photos: Liliana Elias
More than a grain of cocoa, Carenero Superior is an extraordinary flavour that distinguishes the “passionate land with drums” which is Barlovento, Miranda state sub-region in north central Venezuela.
This variety of Venezuelan cacao named after the coastal town of Carenero, known in colonial times for its railway and for being a departure port of various agricultural products, especially cocoa.
From then on, the fine aroma grain of Barlovento is a quality reference of our cocoa, recognized and sought by various chocolate industries in the world.
This ancestral route in Barlovento, as per some authors, is believed to have started with the Dominican priests, who cultivated it around 1580. Others claim that even before the indigenes Tomuzas it was used for the almonds sweetness and also to extract its oil to light campfires due to its high fuel power.
The colonial occupation began in 1680 with the rising up of new towns, encouraged by missionaries in order to group together the scattered indigenes of the region. The earliest known settlements are Caucagua and Capaya where cocoa begins to be grown diffidently.
It was not until the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century when Barlovento becomes a cocoa emporium in Venezuela. Later, there were founded some towns such as Curiepe, Birongo, Guayabal, Ganga, Cumbo and Morocopo.
Barlovento’s cocoa production was mainly for exportation, being the most frequent destinations the Port of Veracruz in Mexico and, from there to Spain. This coveted fruit reached such a boom that by the year 1745 there were about 558 farms with about 5,000,000 trees.
Subsequently, as it occurred in the rest of the country, oil replaced cocoa as the main product of Venezuelan economy. However, the cocoa tradition remains as one of the representative features of the region.
Prodigy axes
In order to know Barlovento’s cocoa, we travel about an hour from Caracas, take the Caracas-Guatire highway and then, continue going up to Caucagua, capital of the municipality Acevedo, Miranda state.
There are three distinct geographical axes. The first and most important one, due to its production volume is located in the municipalities of Acevedo and Paez, specifically, the axis of the main road 9 that starts in Caucagua and ends in the Guapo.
Within this area there are located a considerable number of haciendas which belonged to the great cocoas and were a reference of the traditional management of cocoa. El Rosario, Los Urrutia, La Rosota, La Conception, Providence, Chaguaramas, Surprise, Long Street, Santa Maria, San Martin, Bolivar, San Augustine and Guaraco, are some of them.
Panaquire, El Clavo, El Guapo and El Bachiller are the most important communities of this axis and are now a historical reference for its importance as cocoa production centres. Most of these towns were created from cocoa as well as the settlement of slaves in the vicinity of these haciendas.
The second axis is Higuerote-Curiepe, where tourism is particularly important for its cultural and religious heritage, closely linked to the cultivation of cocoa. The chocolate factory “La Flor de Birongo”, a project implemented with the support of Polar Foundation is one of cocoa and chocolate references in this area.
Finally, the axis San Jose and Rio Chico stands out due to a considerable number of communities where cocoa was and continues to be the main economic activity. Within this sector is the cocoa axis that spans from La Compuerta to Campo Alegre, where communities such as Perdomo and Garcia converge, of great importance in production of Carenero Superior cocoa.
The farms El Cerro, Las Mercedes, Harmony, San Gregorio, Santo Domingo and Merida, located in the municipality Andrés Bello are reference properties of cocoa production in this area.
Cocoa seed of life
Barlovento holds a significant agricultural potential. Its tropical rain forest features, fertile soils and ideal climatic conditions with a good distribution of rainfall throughout the year, enable the development of a peculiar combination of Trinitarian cocoas that stand out for their quality. Nevertheless, producers, mostly middle-aged and older people, carry out a basic process focused on cultivation and harvesting, with outputs ranging from 250 to 300 kilos per hectare.
Some families are dedicated to work other crops. But cocoa is their main source of livelihood and the centre of their lives, for being their inheritance from previous generations.
Introducing it to the market is different. Some producers sell the grain only fermented to major collection centres. Others commercialise it within their community (at farmyard gate) to intermediaries, who in turn offer it to large companies.
There are also artisans who offer the typical cocoa balls to tourists and visitors, ideal for preparing cup chocolate, and a small percentage of them produce some by-products such as menthol-based cocoa butter, drinks like sweet wine or chocolate punch, among other finished products.
Some small farms go further and add value preparing chocolate squares or bonbons, just like the chocolate fabric Mis Poemas, located in San José de Barlovento, Hacienda La Ceiba in Cumboto and Choco Chaca in Panaquire.
“If it is handled adequately, cocoa could be a highly profitable crop. However, as plantations are being handled now, using traditional techniques and almost no technology, it only could guarantee producer’s livelihood. Hence, it is difficult to improve their quality of life” it is said by Francisco Betancourt, Agronomist and Agricultural Affairs Manager from Chocolates El Rey, has been assisting producers in the area for about 10 years.
Culture of fermentation
As per Betancourt, to achieve this modification implies changing the production system and going beyond essential process. It is not an easy task, but the cocoa tradition of Barlovento could contribute to achieve this.
The key to this distinctive feature of fine aroma cocoa is the fermentation process (to be considered a fermented cocoa it must be higher than 76%) which has remained in this area since colonial times until today.
Similarly to wine production, this procedure allows to increase and release the flavours and characteristic aromas of chocolate, so that the grain has its own identity.
It is already a tradition among producers, “In Barlovento that culture remained since slavery times until today. It is a common task and makes the difference between an ordinary cocoa and a fermented cocoa. It is their business card and a source of pride for them, “Betancourt remarks.
Quality from start to finish
Due to the increasing price of cocoa in the international market, Venezuelan production seems to take a boost. Despite the current low production, prestige of product quality has been maintained throughout the years.
If now our goal is to become a country known not only for a good seed, but also for contributing significantly to global production, there is still much to be done.
One of the essential actions to achieve it is to change the way cocoa is perceived. Betancourt claims that “some producers have not understood that the almond is food and should be treated as such … The whole process should be carried out with care, since the grain is harvested until it is sold in bags.”
The key aspect is to ensure the quality of the entire process in order to increase production. This includes, among other tasks, to recover abandoned plantations, to experiment with grafts and discard unproductive trees.
In Barlovento there is enough land for large-scale cultivation, with good performance fields and emerging initiatives, willing to add value. According to some data handled by Betancourt, the 2015 production was 16,461 ton: 13,169 tons of ordinary cocoa and 3,292 of fermented one.
It is estimated that Barlovento provided approximately 3500 tons to that production. About 1,000 tons were fermented and 2500 ordinary cocoa. Thus, the sub-region Barlovento would be contributing about 22% of the national cocoa production and simultaneously 30% of fermented cocoa in the country.
Barlovento: Zone of peace?
Insecurity is also a persistent issue, represented by criminal action and territorial control exercised by armed groups engaged in drug trafficking, blackmail and kidnapping, forcing producers to abandoning their farms in order to preserve their lives.
The answer to the problem by the government has been to set up peace zones, a programme designed to secure a truce between gangs in exchange for certain socioeconomic benefits. As part of this agreement, the police officers were banned from entering these areas.
Despite this initiative, the solution has not been reached, but only new problems have arisen. This is the point of view of many non-profit organisations, which have described the government policy as weak, since these groups have increased their power and criminal actions have worsened, leaving the authorities without their duty of ensuring the safety of communities.
Likewise, Betancourt considers that it is important to establish a serious programme with the participation of the government and various actors involved in the issue. Only then, free from violence, having the improvement in farmers’ quality life, their families and communities as a goal, we might consider Barlovento an attractive agriculture and tourism development centre, focused on a productive activity of cocoa, thanks to its emblematic product: the Carenero Superior.
