Day 6 – Train Travel in Africa

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A few nice government corruption in africa images I found:

Day 6 – Train Travel in Africa
government corruption in africa

Image by Kevin H.
Tuesday January 19, 2010
Dar Es Salaam/Selous Game Reserve

After breakfast we checked out of our hotel and then just hung around for a bit until Michel came to pick us up at noon to take us to the Tazara train station. Although the train wasn’t scheduled to leave until 4 p.m., we had to be there by 2 because at that point they close the doors to the station and if you aren’t inside you’re out of luck. Evidently closing the station early is a way to combat rampant corruption plaguing the rail service.

The private company that formerly operated the trains servicing Tazara station collapsed due to mismanagement the week before our trip and it had been taken over by the government. Michel informed us that corruption was a major problem with the rail service. Ticket clerks routinely sold counterfeit tickets and pocketed the cash and engineers on cargo trains regularly stopped the trains outside Dar and siphoned off the diesel from the locomotive to sell it on the side. The station, rail lines, and rolling stock were gifts of the Chinese government back in the 1970s and Tanzania was currently petitioning the Chinese to take over the operation of the rail service.

It took us far less time to reach the station than Michel had feared it would and as a result we were faced with the prospect of a hot, boring, three hour wait. We should have been so lucky. Due to a problem with the engine our departure was delayed an hour and a half while they scrounged up a working locomotive. Apparently we got off easy. Michel said that delays are common and often stretch on for several hours or even days and given that they only run two trains per week on the Dar Es Salaam to Zambia line we were taking, there is no option to take a later train.

Because we had first class tickets on the train, we were able to wait in the small, separate first class lounge. The main waiting room was actually cooler, but it was very crowded and there was nowhere to sit so we were content to wait in the stifling first class lounge along with the other tourists and some well-to-do locals. The five of us had bought sandwiches at a small bakery/deli near our hotel before we checked out and so we spent part of our waiting time having a little indoor picnic. Apart from that, we diverted ourselves with books, newspapers, music, conversation, and wondering when the train would actually leave.

Finally we got the word that the train would depart at 5:30 and at the appointed time we made our way through the crowd down to the train platform and boarded the first class carriage. Each compartment held four people and featured facing benches with pull-down bunks overhead. It reminded me of the train travel you see in old movies. Shelley, Donna, Roger and Ruth were all in one compartment and Michel and I were in the neighboring one along with Matthias and Margot, a friendly young French couple who were going to be staying at our lodge for a day and a half.

First class or not, there was no air conditioning on the train and I made the colossal blunder of sitting facing backward so that I missed out on the breeze coming through the open window. Another act of genius. The trip to the stop for the Selous Game Reserve took approximately four hours. The train safari aspect of the trip sounded far cooler than it actually was, given that it had long been dark before we reached the boundaries of the game reserve.

When the train reached our stop, we handed our luggage out the window to the tour company/lodge employees who were waiting for us and then hopped off the train. There was no platform at the Selous stop, so we just had to jump down from the train into the tall grass alongside the tracks. We then piled aboard open-sided SUVs that took us along dark, winding dirt roads to the lodge approximately 15 minutes away from the ‘station.’

At the lodge, the attendants carted our luggage off to our cabins and we headed to the restaurant for our long-delayed dinner. After dinner, Michel informed us regretfully that, due to the rains that had blanketed the area the week before, the roads to the lake were impassable and we would have to forego the boat safari that had been planned for the following morning. We were all pretty crestallen over that and trudged disappointedly off to our cabins to fall asleep to a serenade of jungle bugs and birds.

Protection of Information Bill
government corruption in africa

Image by barbourians
"Drowning in a sea of corruption – help finally arrived"

I think that the Protection of Information Bill will save those who are drowning in a sea of corruption and that the bill will be used to classify documents that should be in the public domain.

I think that the bill poses a huge threat to our democracy in South Africa and is a blow to freedom of the press and will have a "particularly deadening effect on the work of investigative journalists, anti-corruption campaigners, shop stewards and others."

mg.co.za/article/2011-09-02-lifting-the-lid-on-toxic-gruel

City agriculturist eyes to make city largest cacao producer

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City agriculturist eyes to make city largest cacao producer
Avila also said there are still 23000 hectares of potential land area for cacao to be planted in the city and that they need to plant one to two million seedlings a year to be able to export cacao worldwide. He said they will be looking into financial …
Read more on Sun.Star

Slice: Oh Christmas tree, once decorated, now discarded
Picking out a tree and decorating it are family traditions. Parents and kids pile into minivans and SUVs and scour tree farms, nurseries and grocery store parking lots for that perfect pine, the fullest fir. The play Christmas music, sip cocoa, …
Read more on Omaha World-Herald

Desert Winds Blow Cocoa Higher
"[The winds] can dry out soil moisture and have a pretty strong effect on the pods on the tree." Ivory Coast is wrapping up the harvest of its main crop, which began in October. After the cocoa pods are picked, the trees will produce a midseason crop, …
Read more on Wall Street Journal

Cocoa Production

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The worlds greatest treat starts with an unusual source, growing on a funny looking tree the Cocoa. Cocoa from which chocolate is made grows in rugby ball shaped pods on thin branches in tropical countries. Nearly seventy percent of the worlds cocoa is farmed in Africa. Chocolate begins within these pods, each pod provides about 40 cocoa beans and these beans including the white sticky pulp that surround them help to produce the flavour of the bean.

The beans are scooped out of the pods and often covered with banana leaves in shallow boxes. This encourages fermentation to begin which in turn sparks chemical changes in the bean and allows enzymes to alter the flavour which is critical and the start of the process. After this the beans are allowed to dry out a process which cannot be rushed. If the beans are allowed to dry too fast or too slowly they can become bitter or mouldy. Often they are dried on bamboo mats and the suns rays provide a natural way to develop the favour of the beans. The drying process can take several days and as they lose their moisture the weight of the bean reduces by as much as fifty percent.

The cocoa farmers take these dried beans to collection sites where they are mixed with beans from other farms all carefully selected to help achieve a distinctive taste unique to that area. Although cocoa beans are all similar they are picked for their characteristics and are classed as bulk beans or flavour beans. There are three main types of cocoa trees and each tree produces its own flavours.

The farming of the beans is very labour intensive and with nearly 2.6 million cocoa bean farms in Africa alone it is not hard to imagine the amount of manpower that is needed to gather the 3.4 million tonnes annually that is harvested. Each cocoa pod has to be collected by hand as they ripen at different times and the farmers generally use machetes to remove the pod from the tree. Each pod is then opened by hand. It takes about 500 beans to produce one pound of bitter sweet chocolate.

The cocoa tree itself will only traditionally grow in an area near to the equator and is prone to disease and pests , nearly 33% of the yearly crop is destroyed. It needs protection from the sun and will grow best when it is shaded by taller trees growing nearby. Low soil fertility in many regions of Africa also take a toll on the farming of the cocoa bean.

Chocolate is primarily made from cocoa beans and each region produces its own unique flavour allowing chocolate producers to choose slightly different tastes. For instance cocoa beans grown in Ghana in Africa have a rich, deep cocoa flavour whilst beans farmed in Madagascar are slightly acidic with a citrus taste to them. It is generally thought that Columbus brought the cocoa bean to Europe and sparked interest in this wonderful bean. Although it was several decades before its properties were truly understood and before chocalate was enjoyed all around the globe.

The Food Of The Gods

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Chocolate is the result of a long and complicated process, the end product is worth both the time and effort. It begins with the gathering of the essential ingredient, the cocoa bean, which is harvested from the cocoa tree that grows in hot tropical climates. The cocoa tree produces pods all year round at different stages of ripeness. These pods are collected by hand and opened allowing access to the cocoa beans inside. These beans are allowed to ferment and then to dry out. The amount of time that the beans are allowed to ferment and dry are the factors that help develop the characteristic taste that compliment their natural flavourings. When the beans are fully dry they lose about half their weight  It takes about 400 cocoa beans to make a pound of bitter sweet chocolate. The dried beans are then transported to chocolate manufacturers all across the globe.

The manufacturers then begin the process of roasting the beans to develop the chocolate taste and colour. The length of time and temperature the beans are roasted at also helps to develop the chocolate taste. Different types of cocoa bean require differing amounts of roasting. After the beans have been roasted they are moved to a ‘winnower’ this separates the bean from the shell and leaves the ‘nibs’. These nibs are the essential ingredient in chocolate, the cocoa solids and cocoa butter. The nibs are ground into a rich paste called chocolate liquor This forms the base of all future chocolate products. It is at this point a resemblance and taste of chocolate becomes apparent. This chocolate liquor is then pressed removing the cocoa butter and leaving a powdery product behind. This is the cocoa powder. From here on in the process changes from manufacturer to manufacturer depending on their requirements. Low quality chocolate will be a blend of the cocoa powder mixed with vegetable fats, sugars and flavourings. Higher quality chocolate will be a blend of the cocoa powder, an amount of the cocoa butter along with milk, vanilla and sugars.White chocolate contains no chocolate liquor or powder. Dark chocolate contains no milk products. The chocolate is made smooth before being moved to the conching process.

The conching process is the last stage that determines the texture and flavour of the finished article. The conching process allows the chocolate to be kneaded and massaged over the course of hours and sometimes days. The amount of time allowed for the conching affects the subtle taste of the chocolate. The chocolate is then allowed to cool which produces shiny and smooth bars of chocolate. The chocolate is then poured into moulds and shaped into recognisable products. The appreciation of chocolate is sometimes regarded as an affair of the senses as the rich chocolate aroma and sweet taste combines with the glossy surface creating a sensation that is savoured throughout the world. Good quality chocolate should melt in the mouth and leave a smooth velvety feeling behind.

After the chocolate has cooled and moulded it is then wrapped, packaged and dispatched for the world to enjoy..

How cocoa is grown on a plantation.

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Cocoa is a really important part of the lives of millions of people all over the world. It’s the raw material from which chocolate foods,  chocolate bars, coffee, beverages, soaps, and even lotions are made. But as important as it has become to so many of us, very few know, or even care to consider, how the cocoa gets to become the sweet tasty chocolate we have learned to so ardently crave.

The Cocoa plant from which cocoa beans are extracted and processed to cocoa, is mostly grown in the the tropical regions of South America and Africa.The growing process is quite extensive and involves a lot of technical knowledge about farming. To produce high quality cocoa beans that are capable of being processed into the finest quality chocolate a lot of steps must be taken. First the land to be used must be cleared. African plantations are usually established in the equatorial tropical forest areas that have a good amount of rainfall in the rainy season.

The best soils for growing cocoa are usually permeable, humus soils of good structure that allows moisture and rainfall easy access to the deep roots of the plant. Cocoa plants are usually planted in rows. When the soil is scooped up to start planting, the soil from the top of the holes is replaced by the soil at the bottom of the holes after the seedlings have been planted. This allows for aeration of the soil and easy access of moisture to the seedlings roots.

Young cocoa plants need shade so farmers usually plant their cocoa seedlings after having cleared the chosen area and planted banana or other wide leaf plants to provide the young cocoa plants with shade. Once the plants grow older and no longer need the shade the other plants can be removed. Other tasks that have to be done before the cocoa plants mature include regular weeding and trimming. This is done until they are ready for harvesting. Some species of cocoa trees mature and start to produce fruit after 2 years. The ripe fruits can then be harvested and the cocoa beans removed for processing. Ripe fruits are typically red or yellow depending on the specie.

The pods are harvested with a machete, the pod is opened and the beans are scooped out. They are then laid out to dry for several days on large trays beneath the sun. This process is vital because it affects the quality of the beans and subsequently of the cocoa produced. When this process is done the beans are packed into jute bags and hauled off to the factories for processing. In the factories the beans are further dried by a process known as roasting and the shells are also removed. The end products of this shelling and roasting process are called nibs. The Nibs are then further processed depending on what is wanted as the end product. They can be ground into a thicker creamier paste called chocolate liquor.

Chocolate can be produced from this chocolate liquor by adding cocoa butter (gotten from chocolate liquor by a separate process), sugar, vanilla and lecithin(emulsifier). A number of other products can be produced through other processing methods.

Cocoa Farms in Africa

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Chocolate, the beloved of almost everyone around the world, is a product of the cocoa bean (or the cacao bean) which grows in a pod on the cacao trees. When the cacao beans mature, they are processed into chocolate. Africa is the world leader in cocoa production, with cocoa farms in Africa accounting for 70% of the world’s share.

Côte d’Ivoire is the largest producer of cocoa in Africa. Other major producers include Ghana, Ivory Coast and Indonesia.  Although cocoa production is most concentrated in countries of West Africa, but it is grown in other parts of the world too. For the thousands of villages in Africa, the small cocoa farms of Africa are the most important source of money for the people.

The cocoa tree (Theobroma Cacao), grows best in the equatorial forests. The warm and humid environment of the equatorial forests, coupled with the shade of taller trees like palm and banana, protect the fragile cocoa plant from the extreme heat of the sun and strong winds. Thus, the equatorial belt stretching between approximately 20°N and 20°S of equator is where most of the cocoa plants thrive.
Once a cocoa plant matures for about 5 or 6 years, it begins to bear pods.

This is the time when they become useful for the cocoa farms in Africa. The life of a cocoa tree varies between 20 and 25 years, after which they need to be replaced by younger trees. There are 3 different varieties of cacao trees, namely- Criollo, Forastero and Trinitario, out of which Forastero accounts for about 85% of cocoa mixture. It is rightly known as bulk cocoa and has a clean flavor. Criollo has a unique aroma, but is susceptible to diseases. Trinitario is the flavor bean, having the best of both of the other strains.

The cocoa tree flowers twice a year, in a cycle of 6 months. Out of the flowers, only a small share is fertilized, naturally and artificially, and even a smaller share develops into green, elongated melon-like cocoa pods. In 6 months, the cocoa pods fully mature and change their color from green to a yellow-orange. The farm workers harvest the pods with great care, to avoid any kind of damage to the tree. After this, the pods are left to ripen for a few days. The next step is to remove the outer peel, which is done by the practiced hands of workers on cocoa farms in Africa. The peel is removed using long knives and very carefully to ensure the beans remain untouched. Harvesting is done twice a year, usually between October and March and then May to August.

The pulp which contains the valued cocoa beans is collected in large baskets at cocoa farms in Africa.  After this, the beans are left to ferment for a few days, depending on their type. This period can be up to a week. The beans are covered using banana leaves and left on trays. The process of fermentation removes the fruit pulp that sticks on to the beans. The beans change their color to a purplish tinge during fermentation, and also develop the characteristic aroma. The next process is crucial. The beans are left out to dry in the sun for a week, to remove the excess moisture. They are turned at regular intervals so that only a fraction of moisture remains. Drying stops the fermentation process and makes the beans suitable for storage.

The dried beans are then taken by the farmers to collection centers where their hard work is paid. The beans are graded by sampling 100 beans out of the produce, and an appropriate quality batch is then assigned accordingly. After the quality check is over, the beans are weighed and packed in sacks. The sacks are then transported to warehouses, where the process of transforming them to chocolate begins.