Xocolat: Community and Cacao

Over the course of 3 years, I spent my life living and working in Central America; Two and a half years were spent working as a sustainable agriculture and improved food securities volunteer for the Peace Corps in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, three months were spent working in the cacao fields of Central America, learning about the growing process, production phases and industry first-hand with people that have dedicated their lives to growing and producing some of the finest chocolate in the world, and finally, three months were spent on the coasts of Costa Rica, working with a group of marine biologist and conducting biological studies on nesting sea turtles on the Caribbean coast and the migration routes of marine mammals through the Pacific. Although these three chapters may seem to be unconnected, they are, in fact, all closing tied together in the assembly, experimentation and construction of my thesis. I spent these