Community+Organizations+-+Group+B

Lorne Ms.McGann 6-24/15/10

__** Community Organizations **__ I. Talamanca project What is it about? A. The Talamanca Project is a non-profit organization that teaches young farmers how to grow cocoa trees the correct way. Also they help the farmers that they teach grow there trees. If cocoa trees are planted the wrong way, the plant shoots will not sprout correctly so volunteers give information to young scientists to help them understand how to grown the plants to create a more pure chocolate. The organization also grows their own chocolate, they only provide their chocolate to their workers to eat or use for their family if they want it. All the people who work in the organization are volunteers.

Why was it started? B. The organization was started so that there could be more all natural chocolate makers or producers. At first when the Talamanca project was just started it was formed to help young farmers get around the difficulties of growing cocoa trees. Now it has turned into teaching, growing, and even some producing.

Where is it ? C. The Talamanca project is located in the Dominican Republic. The D.R is one of the most popular places to grow chocolate because it is constantly warm and rains just enough, if not more than enough, to be a good place to grow the cocoa tree. It's also a "tropical" place which means it would be easier to grow an all natural tree because of the weather variations.

II. Loma Quita Organization What is it about? A. Loma Quita is an organization that tries to preserve and protect scientific organizations that try to stop de-forestation. They also try to spread young scientists around the world to stop the terrible things that the government is attempting to do, like cutting down more trees than needed. The young scientists are also trying to making places around the world easier to grow more trees including the cocoa tree. For example, they teach farmers how to make greenhouses with water and heat that help create the same effects as the rain forests. This process helps the plants grow correctly and get the correct amount of regulated sun and rain.

Why was it started? The main reason that Loma Quita was started was to educate less experienced scientists on how to spread their knowledge on how to save the environment while still using the trees in a useful way. For instance the cocoa tree can be used for producing all natural and preserved chocolate, while this process is happening the tree will grow back and produce more beans. The project also helps farmers understand that when the plants are not grown correctly, they contaminate the soil and the cocoa plants cannot be grown in the same location until new soil is brought in.

Where is it located? Loma Quita is located in Costa Rica, which now have the largest rain forest in the world and is also considered a tropical area, so therefore it is a good location for cocoa trees to be grown there. Loma Quita was not always the largest rainforest in Costa Rica but because of de-forestation in other areas it is currently the largest. Costa Rica is an environmentally friendly country and tries to protect their environment and rain forests. According to the New Economics foundation, Costa Rica ranks first in the Happy Planet Index and is the "greenest" country in the world.

Bibliography Works Cited // the cocoa tree //. Chocolate Manufacturers Association, 2003. Web. 13 Apr. 2010. . “Talamanca Project.” // THE COCOA TREE //. Chocolate Manufacturers Association, 2003. Web. 9 Apr. 2010. . // Talamanca: Service Project Gold Mine //. a community services group, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2010. . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costa_Rica