Denise M. Caudill, DrPH, MPH, Consultant, 2200 Dublin Rd, Oklahoma City, OK 73120, 405-755-6258, denisecaudill@cox.net and Erika Vohman, MS, The Equilibrium Fund, P.O. Box 2371, Crested Butte, CO 81224.

By learning to harvest, process, prepare and sell Mayanut, women in Nicaragua are increasing family income and food security, better managing their natural resources, addressing their needs for health, family planning and building self-esteem and group capacity.

Maynut (Brosimum alicastrum) is a rainforest tree which provided the staple food of pre-Columbian Mayans. It has significant nutritional, ecological and socio-economic advantages over other foods: • Higher in protein, vitamin C, iron and calcium than corn, manioc, wheat, potato, oat, quinoa and rice • Can be sustainably wild harvested from forests and forest fragments • Provides habitat for birds and wildlife • Protects watersheds, tolerates drought, requires no agricultural inputs or forest clearing • Produces five times more protein per hectare than corn

First year program impacts are significant. Survey results include: • 90 Nicaraguan women produced and sold 3500 lbs of Mayanut in 2003, earning an average of $40 each • 268 women learned to process and cook with Mayanut • 5 local women trained to lead production and cooking workshops • 80% sold for income; 20% retained for consumption (voluntarily) • Participants receive assistance for reproductive health needs, including tubal ligations.

Because of low coffee prices, thousands of Central American communities are experiencing major economic crises, resulting in dramatic increases in poverty, malnutrition and infant/child mortality, as well as deforestation as coffee farms are converted to other agricultural uses. The methodology of the Mayanut Program provides a holistic and long-term solution to these inter-related economic, ecological and human health crises.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will gain knowledge of ways in which an integrated program approach produces health-environment-empowerment synergies at the individual, community and project level.

Keywords: Latin American, Self-sufficiency and Empowerment

Related Web page: www.theequilibriumfund.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: The Equilibrium Fund
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.