Posted on June 13, 2010 by Rizky
Today we continued our journey to Buntu Batu, but unfortunately, today will be the last day of our upcountry sustainability tour. But it’s ok. Everything that we experienced together is so awesome! Well, I guess it’s fair enough. So here, we visited another cocoa clinic and got an explanation of the development process created by the cocoa...
Posted on June 12, 2010 by Jesse
Today marked the end of our group sustainability tour and the beginning of work on my individual microfinance project, the goal of which is to facilitate access to capital for cocoa farmers and fishermen to provide the up-front funds needed to launch sustainable businesses (which provide Mars with raw material inputs for our consumer products)....
Posted on June 12, 2010 by Joe
Following the trip to the islands, our tour continued with a trek upcountry to visit Mars cocoa farmers and their ongoing sustainability initiatives. In this case, “upcountry” means an 8 hour drive from Sulawesi across bumpy, potholed roads and stunningly beautiful scenery. Along the way to Palopo, our central location, we encountered ocean...
Posted on June 12, 2010 by Rizky
Today was a very exciting day. We began the journey at a Mars cocoa clinic in Latupa. Here we were given an explanation of the cacao tree planting and maintenance techniques, from seedlings until ready to harvest. Here, too, we were given the opportunity to plant cacao trees on our own. Jesse, Melly (another MSS worker) and I together...
Posted on June 11, 2010 by Jesse
Our day today was packed with visits to various farms and facilities that make up the network of Mars cocoa operations in Indonesia, including stops at a cocoa nursery in Latuppa, a vocational school in Bone-Bone that specializes in cocoa, a composting site in Pongo, and a wet cocoa bean buying and packing plant in Lara (where wet beans are...
