We Are All One—Reaching out to the rest of the World

In the past few years, I have been teaching nutrition and cooking classes in undernourished communities in Mexico and Guatemala as well as providing technical support for soy dairies established by Plenty International in those communities. Since my area of expertise is soyfoods and vegan cuisine, I have been introducing soyfoods as an alternative protein. Food security and sustainability have been the focus for Plenty’s projects that I have been working on.

In Mexico, I have worked together with the staff of Centro Indigena Huichol in Huejuquilla el Alto, Jalisco, to train new soy technicians to run a small soy dairy established by Plenty and CIH to help introduce soy protein as an alternative to both the Huichol and Mexican populations there. We produced and distributed soymilk, soy yogurt, soy ice cream, tofu, and a power-packed soy-amaranth-corn pinole. (Pinole is used to make a traditional thick drink usually made with only corn flour. Amaranth seed is one of the traditional protein sources of Mexico). All were well received. I also taught nutrition classes and trained soy nutrition promoters at CIH, DIF (Desarollo Infantil y Familial), and the local hospital in town. Thousands of soy nutrition classes have been taught in the area as a result of this training. We also worked to reintroduce amaranth as a protein food and a crop to the area.

While working in Mexico, I learned that when the Spanish conquistadores took over the Mayan and Aztec empires, they banned the growing and consuming of amaranth and chia under threat of death. Amaranth and chia are both complete proteins indigenous to these regions, and were two of the original four vegetable protein sources for these civilizations. This ban left corn and beans as vegetable protein sources, which are only complete when consumed together. Amaranth and chia were also integral to the indigenous religions or this area, so the threat of death was designed to discourage their use and move the native people toward the religion brought by the Spanish. In some very remote areas, these two foods continued to be harvested and used, but people caught doing so were killed. Both can grow wild as well, and still do, but their use and value was lost to many people. This may explain why the indigenous people of these regions tend to be small and malnourished, having had these complete proteins taken away from them, plus having to convert to a cash economy. Most poor indigenous people do grow both corn and beans, but end up having to sell the beans for cash, leaving them with only corn to eat and malnutrition. Both amaranth and chia are being reintroduced today. Amaranth can be found in most parts of Mexico in the form of a popular sweet confection called “alegria”. In Guatemala, the leaves of the amaranth plant can be found in markets called “hoja de bledo”. In Oaxaca there is a non-profit program reintroducing amaranth as a protein seed and a vegetable green called “Puente a la Salud Comunitaria”. For Plenty’s soy project at Centro Huichol in northern Jalisco, we added popped amaranth seed to our protein power packed pinole and cultivated amaranth in the CIH fields from an ancient strain of amaranth saved by the Huichol people.

In Guatemala I have worked together with the staff of Alimentos San Bartolo, near Solola, a soy dairy established there by Plenty International in 1979. This is now a Mayan owned community business, still producing soymilk, tofu, tempeh, and soy ice cream today. We worked together on production techniques and new products.

In Guatemala City, I also have worked together with the staff of UPA-SOYA, the soy dairy established with help from Plenty International and others at UPAVIM (Unidas Para Vivir Mejor) on production techniques and new products. UPAVIM is a non-profit women’s co-operative dedicated to the sale of fair trade crafts. All profits go toward the empowerment of women and community service programs. UPAVIM was initiated in 1988 with a healthy baby program in La Espernaza parish of Guatemala City, and has grown since then.

Spending this time in these other cultures has introduced me to other lost or neglected indigenous protein sources. Food security has become a global concern and what works locally is going to become more and more important.

These projects are ongoing at different levels. Even though I was teaching and providing technical support for different projects, I learned a tremendous amount and my life was enriched from these one on one, in the field experiences. I have many new friends in many different places with understanding and compassion that comes with friendship. Anything that any of us can do to make real connections with real people of different cultures will help make our world a better place. We are all one.

“PLENTY INTERNATIONAL, founded in 1974, is a village-based international development agency. The village is called The Farm, (www.thefarmcommunity.com and www.thefarm.org) a cooperative, intentional community located on 1750 community-owned acres in Tennessee. The Farm was settled by 250 young hippie pioneers in 1971 and grew to over 1500 inhabitants at its peak population in the early 1980's.

Believing that all life is connected and how we live affects the world, Plenty's founders were committed to creating an organization to help protect and share the world's abundance and knowledge for the benefit of all people. This broad purpose has been channeled into priorities and an evolving philosophy of aid and development as we have gained experience. Today, Plenty's focus is on Indigenous People, youth, women, and the environment. In practical terms, this translates into sustainable development to promote local self-sufficiency in economically disadvantaged or otherwise threatened communities. Over it's 33-year history Plenty has helped to implement projects in fifteen countries on four continents.”

--From the Plenty International Website