Indian home-made chocolate

Chocolate is a gift from American Indians to our civilisation. They cultivated the cocoa tree and made a highly flavoured drink from its seeds. To this day in some parts of Mexico the cocoa tree is grown in back gardens and home-made chocolate is made from the seeds.

The seeds are washed and dried and could be kept for a long time. They have to be roasted before the chocolate could be made, sugar and cinnamon are also added. All ingredients are ground on the traditional Indian grinding stone, mixed and pressed into forms. In this state they can be eaten or a drink can be made with hot water.

     These pictures were taken in the village of Jocotepec in the Mexican state of Oaxaca.

A chocolate tree in a back garden.

The fruit with seeds inside.

The seeds ready to be roasted.

Roasting the seeds.

Grinding the ingredients.

Traditional Indian grinding stone.

Making a chocolate heart.

A heart of chocolate.

Manioc production in the Amazon

Manioc farinha is a staple food in Amazonia. The way it is produced has been perfected by Amazonian Indians long before white men arrived and today it is used by caboclos, who live there now. Fresh roots are peeled, left to soak, grated and squeezed in something that looks like a sock made with a jungle vine, then it is rolled into granules and roasted. You can then buy this home-made farinha on market places in Amazonia. It is added to almost every meal.
    These pictures were taken in a little caboclo settlement called Ipapuku, on the shore of lake Tefe, not too far from the town of Tefe, half way between Manaus and the Brazil-Peru border.

Manioc field

Manioc roots

Manioc grinder

Poison juice squeezing

Manioc juice squeezing

Rolling manioc into grnules

Roasting manioc farinha

Manioc farinha on the market