PUENTE WILL CONTINUE TO SERVE 30 COMMUNITIES IN VALLES CENTRALES AND LA MIXTECA DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

The impact of COVID-19 on Oaxaca and the government order to shelter in place has required Puente to adapt its work to our changing circumstances. As a community organization, our primary interest is in promoting the health and well-being of our farmers and their communities by supporting agroecological food production and creating jobs and economic opportunities. The need for social distancing has limited the scope of our work and the activities we can carry out, but the crisis has also opened additional opportunities. Puente staff continues to work remotely and – where and when it is safe – in the fields. They are adapting existing programs and developing new initiatives that are consistent with good practices in this challenging time.

However, our financial outlook has changed dramatically and has required structural changes in our organization. We remain committed to the mission and work of Puente in support of rural communities in Oaxaca, and the values on which the organization was founded. After careful evaluation of what is feasible in the future given our new reality, we made the decision to narrow the scope and size of the organization in a way that still serves Puente’s mission and leverages the smaller amount of resources we have moving forward. This means we will eliminate the Healthy Families program and focus resources on our existing Ecoamaranth and
Social Economy programs, both of which will continue to hold health promotion as a central value.

We realize that these cuts will have challenging personal and financial impacts on our staff and their families, particularly at a time of a health and economic crisis. We take these actions reluctantly, but with the understanding that a smaller, more focused team will allow the organization to maintain our commitments to our farmers and communities, survive the current crisis, and rebuild in better times to come.

¡Estamos lanzando un boletín semanal!

El acceso a una alimentación adecuada, sana y especialmente compuesta por alimentos locales, garantiza el derecho a la alimentación bajo los principios de la soberanía alimentaria.

Para hablar de una buena nutrición, debemos hacer referencia a la interacción entre los alimentos, el cuerpo y el ambiente; ya que no la prodríamos entender como ajena a los modelos productivos, a los sistemas alimentarios ay a los alimentos mismos.

Con ese fin, Puente está lanzando un boletín semanal con el propósito de compartir información sobre alimentación y salud, dando mayor atención en estos primeros números a la contingencia por la que atravesamos.

Cada edición incluirá información sobre la salud y el medio ambiente, consejos para proteger tu salud mental, información actualizada sobre la pandemia de COVID-19, recetas y actividades para niñxs.

El diseño ilustrado en blanco y negro significa impresión de bajo costo para organizaciones y familias que desean imprimir el boletín. ¡Damos la bienvenida a cualquiera que desee imprimir y compartir esta información! La información objetiva y de apoyo es clave en tiempos de crisis.

También agradecemos comentarios o sugerencias de contenido. Gracias a nuestro equipo de Familias Saludables por sus esfuerzos para organizar y compartir información importante sobre la salud.

The Harvest

Amaranth is planted in June and harvested in November. You can practically take advantage of all of the plant and its use is diverse, both the seeds and the leaves as well as the popped cereal and the flour.

In the Red Amaranto Mixteca, those involved share their experiences and the machinery. Doña Carmen said that now they have a popper with which they can transform the seed and thus use it as a cereal in desserts, salads, sauces, breads, broths and stews. When the process is manual, it is slower when done on a comal or casserole over low heat.

“In the Mixteca Amaranth Network office we have a popper for all producers; with it we achieve greater amounts. We carry our seed at a cost of 6 pesos per kilo. We are now in the process of buying a mill to make amaranth, wheat and other seed flour.”

The raw seed  is used to make cookies and breads. The popped cereal is for breading, as well as for preparing fresh water and atole.

“I make tortilla chips with the popped cereal, the raw one becomes chewy. As for sales, the processed and ground seed reaches 28 pesos per kilo, the flour, 35 pesos and the popped cereal, 60 pesos ”.

The entire plant is used. With the thresher, they separate the straw and then soak it in water for two hours or until it gets a reddish hue similar to hibiscus flowers. This is added to the tortilla chips, something they want to perfect with the dehydrators they manufacture in Putla.

Amaranth in the kitchen

Doña Carmen told us that the leaf is used in soups, fresh waters, and tortillas. “I put it in the beef or pork broth. My grandchildren eat the leaf in broth, in salad and in tamales, something that fascinates them because when large leaves are given, they wrap the nixtamal with mole and chicken.

They eat it with everything, they are very small (…) Amaranth gives us sustenance. When I was sick, my daughter helped me with the expenses by selling the tototpos. Being younger makes it easier for them to work and sell them. With that they buy me fruit in addition to giving me my pennies,” she said proudly.

Now she, like many other women in her community, plant amaranth in her fields, avoiding the use of chemical fertilizers and taking advantage of her cows’ manure. “It’s beautiful what’s happening. In 100 square meters I was given about 16 kilos of grain for our consumption and for sale,” concluded Señora Abundia.

Leer los artículos aquí:

Amaranto, comer justo y sano en Oaxaca

Productores oaxaqueños impulsan el consumo de amaranto 

El amaranto, un gigante desconocido

Recetas para aprovechar el amaranto