Janel Monroe
Janel is currently a junior at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, working toward her B.A. in Communication Studies and Cultural Studies. She has traveled to El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Venezuela. As a Morehead-Cain scholar, she has had the opportunity to teach English to students in El Salvador and complete research in Venezuela and Nicaragua. She conducted an independent research project studying Afro-Latinos over the summer of 2008, and documented her work through pictures and journal entries. She hopes that teachers can use her information to teach students about the Venezuelan culture in conjunction with the United States’ love for chocolate!
Resources created by Janel Monroe
Records 1–18 of 18 displayed
- Cacao paste
- Cacao paste oozes out from a metal hand crank on a cacao plantation in Barlovento, Venezuela. Grinding cacao seeds into a paste is one of the final steps in the cocoa-making process. The seeds come from the cacao tree (Thebroma Cacao),...
- Format: image/photograph
- Cacao plantation, Barlovento, Venezuela
- On a cacao plantation in Barlovento, Venezuela, a pile of cacao seeds lies drying in the sun under a banner that reads "Welcome to Barlovento" in both Spanish and English. Cacao seeds (also known as "cocoa beans") are the raw materials used to make cocoa and...
- Format: image/photograph
- Cacao pod close-up
- A hand holds a mature cacao pod that's been picked from a tree in Barlovento, Venezuela. The mature cacao pod is an almond-shaped, yellowish-orange fruit that generally grows to about 5 to 12 inches long and 3 to 4 inches wide. The seeds of the cacao pod (also...
- Format: image/photograph
- Cacao pod in tree
- On a cacao plantation in Barlovento, Venezuela, a ripening cacao pod hangs in the leafy branches of a cacao tree. The tree -- Thebroma Cacao -- is native to the tropical regions of Central and South America. The seeds of the cacao pod...
- Format: image/photograph
- Cacao pod revealing seeds
- A hand holds a cacao pod that's been picked from a tree in Barlovento, Venezuela. Some of the pod's flesh has been peeled away to reveal the white seeds inside. The inside of the cacao pod contains 20-60 seeds that are moist and fleshy and have a sweet taste....
- Format: image/photograph
- Cacao seed
- A visitor to a Venezuelan cacao plantation holds a roasted cacao seed in her hand. The seed is about the size of a silver dollar coin. The seed comes from the cacao tree (Thebroma Cacao), which is native to tropical Central and South...
- Format: image/photograph
- Cacao seeds over the fire
- On a cacao plantation in Barlovento, Venezuela, a metal pot holding cacao seeds sits over an open fire. The seeds will be roasted over the fire and stirred with a wooden paddle to prevent burning. The seeds come from the cacao tree (Thebroma...
- Format: image/photograph
- Close-up of fermenting cacao seeds
- Close-up view of cacao seeds fermenting in a wooden bucket in Barlovento, Venezuela. The seeds come from cacao pods, which grow on the Thebroma Cacao tree. Fermentation, which converts the seeds' sugars into acids, is the first step...
- Format: image/photograph
- Fermenting cacao seeds
- On a cacao plantation in Barlovento, Venezuela, cacao seeds are fermenting in a wooden bucket. The seeds come from cacao pods, which grow on the Thebroma Cacao tree. Fermentation, which converts the seeds' sugars into acids, is the first...
- Format: image/photograph
- Flipping cacao seeds
- On a cacao plantation in Barlovento, Venezuela, a visitor flips cacao seeds with a rake. Flipping the seeds helps them dry evenly as the lie in the sun. The seeds come from the cacao tree (Thebroma Cacao), which is native to tropical...
- Format: image/photograph
- Grinding cacao seeds
- On a cacao plantation in Barlovento, Venezuela, a man turns a metal hand crank to grind cacao seeds. The paste made from grinding the seeds falls into the tin container underneath the gears. The seeds come from the cacao tree (Thebroma Cacao),...
- Format: image/photograph
- Learning to flip cacao seeds
- The owner of a cacao plantation in Barlovento, Venezuela, shows a volunteer how to flip the cacao seeds and the importance of drying the seeds evenly. The cacao seeds are gathered together in small piles to protect them from the rain. Each pile is labeled...
- Format: image/photograph
- Metal hand crank
- This metal hand crank machine will be used to grind cacao seeds on a cacao plantation in Barlovento, Venezuela. The seeds will be filtered into the funnel at the top, and smashed between the metal gears on the side. The cacao paste that's created will be used...
- Format: image/photograph
- Roasting cacao seeds
- On a cacao plantation in Barlovento, Venezuela, the plantation owner prepares to roast cacao seeds, pouring the dried seeds from a wooden bowl into a metal pot over an open fire. The seeds come from the cacao tree (Thebroma Cacao), which...
- Format: image/photograph
- Spreading cacao seeds
- On a cacao plantation in Barlovento, Venezuela, a student intern from France spreads a pile of cacao seeds out on the cement in an even layer. The seeds, which come from the Thebroma Cacao tree, have been fermented and are now drying...
- Format: image/photograph
- Turning the hand crank
- On a cacao plantation in Barlovento, Venezuela, a visitor turns a metal hand crank to grind cacao seeds into a paste. She braces herself against the table and leans into the crank, demonstrating the tremendous effort needed to grind the seeds. The seeds come...
- Format: image/photograph
- Winnowing cacao seeds
- On a cacao plantation in Barlovento, Venezuela, visitors gather around a bowl of roasted cacao seeds to winnow them -- removing the papery membrane from the outside of the seeds. The seeds come from the cacao tree (Thebroma Cacao),...
- Format: image/photograph
- Winnowing cacao seeds (close-up)
- On a cacao plantation in Barlovento, Venezuela, visitors gather around a bowl of roasted cacao seeds to winnow them -- removing the papery membrane from the outside of the seeds. The seeds come from the cacao tree (Thebroma Cacao),...
- Format: image/photograph
