Maya Nut: The Miracle Seed

by Blaine Metzgar | April 17, 2009 at 12:39 pm

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The Maya nut could be the miracle food we've all been looking for. The nutrient rich, marble-sized seed is giving impoverished women of Central America new economic possibilities and it has a positive impact on the rainforest in which it grows

Abundant in the rain forests of Central America, the Maya nut has high levels of protien, calcium, and fiber, as well as, vitamins A, B, C, and E. On top of its nutritious value, the Maya nut can be prepared so that it tastes like chocolate, coffee, and even mashed potatoes.

But why hasn't this seemingly miraculous seed garnered popularity until now?

The problem, however, is that many people living in areas where the Maya nut grows abundantly don't know about it.

Erika Vohman is trying to change that -- and improve rain forest conservation and women's status in the process.

"People are living right there, in extreme poverty, not even eating more than one meal a day and there's Maya nut lying all around," Vohman said. "They don't eat it because they don't know."

Vohman has traveled to Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador, conducting workshops that teach women how to harvest, prepare and cook or dry the prolific seeds into tasty, hearty foods.

The 45-year-old biologist first encountered the Maya nut while visiting rural Guatemala a decade ago for an animal rescue effort. An indigenous colleague told her of the native resource, once an essential food staple of his Mayan ancestors; the civilization had widely cultivated the large tropical rain forest tree, the Brosimum alicastrum, that produces the Maya nut.

Women of Central America have taken to Maya nut cultivation as a trade and because its recent notoriety opens up new economic possibilities for the developing countries in which it is grown. Vohman notes the potential of the seed claiming, "it's impacting gender equality. That's a huge paradigm shift."

Furthermore, a single tree can produce as much as 400 pounds of food annually and when the seed is dried it can be stored for up to five years. Also, unlike many other plants, the Maya nut does not require deforestation for in order for it to be planted.