Cocoa Harvesting Machete
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Object Details
- Description
- This small machete was used by workers at the Mars Center for Cocoa Science in Itajuipe, Bahia, Brazil. Typically machetes are used for a variety of work from trimming of branches and harvesting pods to opening the pods or fending off snakes.
- Cacao trees, the source of all chocolate, is grown in equatorial regions of Africa, South America, and Asia by about 6.5 million small land owners using simple techniques. But the trees are endangered by diseases such as black pod, witches’ broom, and frosty pod rot. Additionally, the low productivity of the trees helps lock farmers into poverty. The Mars company maintains a research facility in Brazil to improve cacao cultivation techniques and help develop hybrids resistant to disease and improve yields.
- Credit Line
- Gift of MARS Inc.
- ID Number
- 2014.0033.01
- catalog number
- 2014.0033.01
- accession number
- 2014.0033
- Object Name
- machete
- Physical Description
- metal (overall material)
- black (handle color)
- plastic (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 1 5/8 in x 13 5/8 in x 7/8 in; 4.1275 cm x 34.6075 cm x 2.2225 cm
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Agriculture
- Industry & Manufacturing
- American Enterprise
- Exhibition
- American Enterprise
- Exhibition Location
- National Museum of American History
- National Museum of American History
- Record ID
- nmah_1461886
- Metadata Usage (text)
- CC0
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ae-1bd4-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
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