They say life is about the journey, not the destination… well last week we got a little taste of the long journey some cocoa farmers have to make just to get their cocoa beans to a depot for sale.
After harvesting the beans and drying them at a fermentary, large bags are packed with the dry beans that weight around 63kg, which takes 3 men to carry along a long and often treacherous journey from the village to the depot.
When we made the trip, it was during the dry season and the water levels were very low… but during the wet season the track from the village to the mouth of the river often floods, making it muddy and slippery. Other times a raft is used to get down the small Wantun river before they hit the larger crossing at the Markham river.
It’s hard work. And it’s risky. Sometimes they lose their beans. Sometimes they lose their lives.
But for these cocoa farmers, it’s the only option they have to get their product to market and earn a living.
I am filled with gratitude for the experience and for the guides who held our hands and carried our bags across the rivers… to the women who cooked us delicious food in the village and for all the welcoming and warm smiles that greeted us along the way.
What a journey!
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