Nothing is more basic to a culture than diet, which is to say: nourishment. In the state of Oaxaca, 57% of the children in rural areas have experienced stunted growth, which indicates the presence of long term, chronic malnutrition. The state has the fourth highest rate of malnutrition in Mexico. These children are denied the most essential element of their culture..
Puente a la Salud Comunitaria A.C., a non-profit organization and Oaxaca Community Foundation partner, is working to alleviate malnutrition in rural Oaxaca. The organization has focused its efforts on reintroducing the consumption and production of the grain amaranth into the diet of rural communities; a strategy, that Program Director Gabriela Blanco says, combines “a modern-day need with an ancient crop.”
A woman and her child buying amaranth for their daily supplies.
Amaranth has been cultivated in Mesoamerica for approximately 7,000 years. In the Aztec Empire, amaranth, which was then called Huautli, was an abundantly grown grain, used not only for its exceptional nutritional benefits but also in religious ceremonies. In one of the most important ceremonies, amaranth was mixed with honey (and sometimes human blood), formed into statues of Aztec Gods (commonly called Huitzilopochtli), then cut up and distributed among the people. Because of the similarity this ceremony shared with the Catholic Communion, amaranth was banned by the Spanish, making its cultivation and use punishable by death. Although the grain was able to survive in certain villages across Mexico, by and large amaranth was eliminated from the indigenous diet.
In the 1970’s, amaranth, due to its high nutritional content, was rediscovered in Mexico as a viable solution to pandemic malnutrition. Its seeds contain 13 - 15% protein – among the highest for any grain – and are high in fiber, calcium, iron, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, and vitamins A and C. The leaves are also edible, containing more calcium, phosphorous, and vitamin C than spinach. Studies have shown that the integration of just a handful of amaranth (20 grams) into the daily diet can help children recover from states of malnutrition.
Given the extraordinary benefits of amaranth, Puente a la Salud Comunitaria A.C. is working directly with communities to incorporate the grain back into their daily lives—that is, back into the culture. Their strategy aims to create both a supply of and a demand for amaranth.
On the demand side, in addition to raising general awareness in the rural communities, Puente a la Salud Comunitaria A.C. also works with groups of ten participating mothers in each village whose children are malnourished. The mothers establish their own criteria for what it means for their children to be well- nourished. Together with Puente, they come up with a daily nutritional plan that incorporates amaranth. Acting as a third party, health workers from local clinics regularly weigh the children to determine the success of the nutrition plan.
A young boy showing us the amaranth plant.
On the supply side, Puente encourages farmers of the participating communities to grow amaranth. Given that amaranth is native to Mexico, it is accustomed to regional growing conditions and therefore able to flourish in areas of little water. As such, amaranth offers further incentive for its cultivation, including economic, where amaranth currently has a higher market value than corn.
For the last five years, Puente a la Salud Comunitaria A.C. has been committed to working with the communities in order to know and make decisions about the benefits that amaranth could bring to their lives. The organization recognizes that widespread change does not occur overnight, and furthermore, that amaranth cannot be simply imposed upon rural communities. Amaranth must first be understood and finally, in terms of the community, accepted. Only then will it once again be part of the rural culture.
To find out more about amaranth and the impressive work of Puente, click here.
