For years, the stigma on ramón was that it was a poor person’s food, used only in times of famine and not traditionally meant to be in the Guatemalan staple
Although history shows that the ramón seed has been a staple food in the Mayan diet, it evolved to become more of a ‘crisis food’ following crop failures due to drought, war, locust infections, or hurricanes. Despite being a nutritious local food, today, Ramon seed is rarely consumed in the Petén, making up no more than 5% of the local community diet.
For years, the stigma on ramón was that it was a poor person’s food, used only in times of famine and not traditionally meant to be in the Guatemalan staple.
However, José Román, Rainforest Alliance from the Latin America division has seen the rise of the ramón seed from the time the Maya Biosphere Reserve was discovered to where it is now today where the nutrients are used as a selling point to future buyers.
“The ramón is more rich in nutrients than our traditional products like the corn or the bean that is eaten a lot in this region but also the soy as well that is not produced in this region”
“Women from AMUL have registered with the government as a commercial company to begin integrating ramón into the school children nutrition. They got it signed into law that the schools have to give their students a ramón drink or cookie multiple times a week. It’s important that good nutrition begins with our own children”
Different projects (Healthy Kids, Healthy Forests, and Forest Enrichment Project by OMYC) have been developed to create awareness about the ramón seed and incorporate it into the local diet. To debunk the stigmatization of ramón as a food for poor, landless peasants, or animals, different foods and drinks are now being made from ramón seeds that are sold locally in the restaurants.
Forestry experts, international agencies, and local governments are working to promote the benefits of ramón and educate the forest communities about sustainable harvesting. New technologies and advanced processes have allowed effective ways to roast and ground the ramón nut into flour, thereby producing different ramón products such as smoothies, cookies, bread, cakes, and coffee alternatives. Some of these ramón products are also being served in local schools. The ramón flour is now sold to regional schools by law, teaching children about the value of forests and forest protection in Guatemala.
Click here to learn about more about the different types of ramón seed recipes
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