In the grandeur of the Amazon forest, the majestic Amazon chestnut or nut tree Mother of God, takes the award for generosity. With its 60 meters high, it stands out above the other species and its wide 20-meter crown provides the necessary conditions to nourish its fruits and shade the species that surround it.
A single Brazil nut tree can live for hundreds of years, has the capacity to capture thousands of kilos of CO2, plays a role in climate stabilization and global warming control, and returns up to 1,000 liters of water to the atmosphere. Without asking us for anything in return, it grows in our jungle, making Peru one of the only three countries in the world (besides Bolivia and Brazil) with the right climatic conditions to see it develop and grow.
“The truth about chestnuts is that they only exist in this part of the planet, an area of the Amazon shared by Brazil, Bolivia and Peru. There is no other part of the world that can grow chestnuts because the tree needs dynamics between flora and fauna, very special climatic conditions so that they can grow in the Amazon forest”, indicates by telephone Malena Martínez, director of Mater Iniciativa who together with the chefs Virgilio Martínez and Pía León have been valuing the Madre de Dios walnut and spreading its importance through micro-documentaries –made by Docuperú– on social networks.
“When we found out about the Brazil nut universe and visited the Madre de Dios region, starting with Puerto Maldonado, we realized that there were incredible social dynamics and very particular interactions between species of flora and fauna. In addition, we found very special climatic conditions so that these chestnut trees could grow and very rich family histories behind the processing of the chestnut”, Martínez points out. Harvesting the chestnut coconuts, drying and peeling them is a meticulous and arduous job sustained by generations of families from Madre de Dios.
There are several associations of chestnut growers led by women and they are the ones who disseminate knowledge of this product and its handling to their children: “They make chestnuts a daily chore because they cook with it, process it, make flour, chili peppers, pasta, breads, etc. and the chestnut is part of his life. The chestnut women’s associations are interesting because they are made up of fighting, visionary, highly organized women that we wanted to register, since they are the ones who carry out a huge industry that has the potential to be much bigger.”
Martínez tells us that the objective of the project is to make visible the complex world of the chestnut precisely so that they can grow their industry: “The interesting thing about the Peruvian chestnut is that the human part is very involved and the will to preserve this wonderful forest, which which is important to observe”.
As restaurants, in Central and Kjolle they always had chestnuts as one of the items on the tasting menu. “Pía León has a wonderful dessert with chestnut ice cream. In Central, the chestnut goes in a kind of flakes, it was with salty, fish, chestnut milk”. Previously, in the tasting menu it appeared with the name Bahuaja nut because a movement for the conservation of the Bahuaja Sonene park in Madre de Dios was presented; however, as a result of this new project, they renamed it the Madre de Dios walnut because “it seemed to us that, by valuing it as a product of Peru, it had to be linked to the place where it comes from. In addition, it was curious that the region precisely alludes to a mother and it is a product that has a very close family relationship”, explains the director of Mater Iniciativa.
To give continuity to this project and not just micro documentaries, the chefs and Mater Iniciativa decided to make a limited edition of chocolate with chestnuts whose release date will be January 30 and will be sold at the Central and Kjolle restaurants. “It will have a very special package and it will have an explanatory brochure about everything that exists around the chestnut, nature, ecology, climate, pollinators, social dynamics, processing, harvesting and you will take that piece to have at home ”.
But, in addition to the micro-documentaries and the chocolate, they are committed to leaving innovative product ideas to local companies, as well as providing them with advice to make chestnut products extremely attractive to travelers and tourists and to encourage economic growth. family around this wonderful and imposing Amazonian tree.
More information
- More than 100,000 hectares are preserved under the dynamics of sustainable use of this nut, and various other species such as orchids, bromeliads, macaws, which this ancestral tree houses, becoming a true magnet for biodiversity.
- Brazil nut trees have been an important human livelihood in the rainforest for hundreds of years and continue to be. Year after year, the collection, processing and sale of Brazil nuts provide income for more than 30,000 people in Madre de Dios, without disturbing the ecology of the Amazon rainforest.
- Virgilio Martinez and his team at Central Restaurante were inspired by the walnut to develop three innovative and competitive products, taking into account today’s consumer preferences, and which will be presented to seven local companies in the region.
- This project is carried out with the financing of Concytec – Prociencia, the support of the World Bank, Mater Iniciativa and Docuperú.
- The limited edition of artisan chocolate has 73% cocoa. It will be on sale from January 30 at Casa Túpac and at home.
- The micro documentaries can be seen in their entirety on the Mater Iniciativa Instagram account and at the link https://vimeo.com/showcase/10065642
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Source: Elcomercio
I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.