About this project
This is a photographic project about the women who plant, grow, harvest and process cacao (chocolate) in a small village.
Founded in the 16th century, Chuao is a small village located in the northern coastal range of Venezuela. Known for its Cacao plantations, where some of the finest Cacao beans in the world are produced, the village is surrounded by mountains and dense rainforests to the south and by the Caribbean Sea to the north. There is no road access and visitors must come by boat from a nearby town, or by foot, crossing the mountains and the luxurious cloud forest.
Cacao -the raw material for chocolate- is predominantly grown, harvested and processed by their women. Men have engaged in other activities such as fishing. The energy and the talent of these women and the exuberance of the village itself make for a beautiful photographic project.
The project includes five panoramas depicting the protagonist in the village’s life: the central patio, the sea and the river. There are also individual portraits of the 3 generations of women that are now together working on the exploitation of the Cacao all the way to manufacturing chocolate "panelas".
The project has been partially executed, and your pledge will be utilized to take this work to exhibition. Printing the five split-pane, 2x14-feet Panoramas on canvas and the almost two dozen portraits of these amazing women is a very expensive endeavor. Each and every canvas image will be heavily intervened by hand. The first one has already been printed and has returned to Chuao to be infused with chocolate.
The funds pledged will complete the printing and mounting of the remaining 4 panoramas, and will also help to complete the cycle and go back to get more photographs of these women. 20% of the proceeds from the exhibit will be donated back to these women, for the acquisition of a Temperer and other equipment, necessary for taking their chocolate-making craft to the next level.
FAQ
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4
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$70.00
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Funding Unsuccessful
This project reached the deadline without achieving its funding goal on February 28, 2011.
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Get mentioned on the project's blog and get free access to our eCard system with images of the project, you will be able to send eCards to friends for a year!
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Get an autographed bookmark with one of the panoramas! get mentioned on the project's blog and free access for a year to our eCard system with images of the project.
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Get an autographed postcard with images of the panoramas, get mentioned on the project's blog and free access for a year to our eCard system with images of the project.
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Get a pack of 5 bookmarks with images of the panoramas, get mentioned on the project's blog and free access for a year to our eCard system with images of the project.
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Get an enlargement that will fit in a 11x14 frame, get mentioned on the project's blog and free access for a year to our eCard system with images of the project.
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Get an autographed copy of the limited edition book with ALL the images, get mentioned on the project's blog and free access for a year to our eCard system with images of the project.
Project By
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Painfully self taught and self financed. Believer of the art and armchair philosopher.
Above all, I believe that Photography is a form of self-expression. That it is a way of letting your soul out to play with light, and then having it get caught again, in an image. Often, the emotional state of the photographer "leaks" into the image and can eventually be felt by the viewer. If free speech is a Human Right, art to be free is a necessity of the Human Soul.
