WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.840 --> 00:00:03.386 Colombia's tropical dry forest is home 2 00:00:03.386 --> 00:00:05.870 to many unique animals and plants. 3 00:00:05.880 --> 00:00:08.553 A very special tree also grows here: 4 00:00:10.619 --> 00:00:13.587 It is a very, very important tree in the tropical dry forest 5 00:00:13.587 --> 00:00:18.100 that provides food for birds, rodents, mammals and humans. 6 00:00:21.160 --> 00:00:24.680 The guáimaro is also known as the tree of life. 7 00:00:26.910 --> 00:00:31.550 This comes from the flower, the fruit of the guáimaro. 8 00:00:31.550 --> 00:00:34.830 The tree's seeds, or nuts, are highly nutritional. 9 00:00:35.670 --> 00:00:38.270 They contain amino acids and proteins. 10 00:00:38.280 --> 00:00:40.300 And they also have a lot of calcium. 11 00:00:42.043 --> 00:00:45.080 Guáimaro is currently being rediscovered 12 00:00:45.080 --> 00:00:47.110 by Colombia's culinary scene. 13 00:00:47.120 --> 00:00:49.229 And that's helping with the reforestation 14 00:00:49.240 --> 00:00:51.220 of endangered woodlands. 15 00:00:53.910 --> 00:00:58.310 In Latin, this giant tree is called "Brosimum alicastrum". 16 00:00:58.310 --> 00:01:00.220 But it has many names. 17 00:01:01.230 --> 00:01:05.113 Guáimaro is also known as Ramón, Ojoche, 18 00:01:05.113 --> 00:01:08.800 the bread nut or Maya nut tree. 19 00:01:08.819 --> 00:01:12.300 It's thought that its seeds played an important dietary role 20 00:01:12.300 --> 00:01:13.560 for the ancient Maya. 21 00:01:13.580 --> 00:01:17.500 It is found in Central America's dry forest areas. 22 00:01:17.500 --> 00:01:21.660 For Colombians like Javier José Zequeda, it's an old acquaintance. 23 00:01:23.833 --> 00:01:27.160 I've known it ever since I was a child. 24 00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:31.600 When my grandfather took us home with him, he taught us a lot about 25 00:01:31.600 --> 00:01:34.840 the guáimaro's nutritional and physiological aspects. 26 00:01:35.750 --> 00:01:37.610 We children ate them. 27 00:01:37.750 --> 00:01:41.790 We harvested the nuts wild in the forest and ate them raw or cooked. 28 00:01:41.790 --> 00:01:43.650 They nourished us. 29 00:01:43.670 --> 00:01:46.750 Even as a child, I knew many ways to prepare them. 30 00:01:46.990 --> 00:01:49.763 Now I know that the tree has even more great properties, 31 00:01:49.763 --> 00:01:51.780 so it has even more value for me. 32 00:01:55.357 --> 00:01:58.623 Guáimaro seeds are harvested with the help of animals 33 00:01:58.623 --> 00:02:00.910 that live in and feed on the tree. 34 00:02:00.920 --> 00:02:03.700 It is considered an "umbrella species", 35 00:02:03.700 --> 00:02:08.880 as it contributes to the survival of numerous other species in the same habitat. 36 00:02:12.770 --> 00:02:16.750 Bats eat the pod that contains the nuts. 37 00:02:16.750 --> 00:02:19.220 They eat the pod, but not the seeds. 38 00:02:19.230 --> 00:02:22.240 The bats drop them, along with some birds. 39 00:02:22.710 --> 00:02:28.030 We gather them up from the ground, take them home, wash and sort them 40 00:02:28.030 --> 00:02:29.650 and leave them to dry. 41 00:02:29.840 --> 00:02:32.993 After a few days, maybe 15 to 22 of them, 42 00:02:32.993 --> 00:02:35.930 depending on the weather, the seeds have dried. 43 00:02:38.200 --> 00:02:41.570 In the town of Ovejas in northern Colombia, 44 00:02:41.570 --> 00:02:47.023 guáimaro seeds from the Montes de María are turned into flour in a processing plant 45 00:02:47.023 --> 00:02:52.950 set up by a Colombian-French NGO called Envol-Vert. 46 00:02:52.950 --> 00:02:57.256 Its goal is to sustainably use non-timber forest resources, 47 00:02:57.256 --> 00:03:00.419 so those that don't require felling trees. 48 00:03:00.430 --> 00:03:02.530 Like the guáimaro seeds. 49 00:03:04.040 --> 00:03:07.560 Here they are moved and shaken, because the seeds are covered 50 00:03:07.560 --> 00:03:10.660 by a skin even after they have been dried completely. 51 00:03:11.030 --> 00:03:12.683 Then they are processed further, 52 00:03:12.683 --> 00:03:15.370 roasted, ground and packaged. 53 00:03:15.430 --> 00:03:18.380 We then send the end product to Bogotá. 54 00:03:18.389 --> 00:03:21.470 You can consume it as a superfood in anything you want. 55 00:03:21.550 --> 00:03:25.550 You can put it in milk, in rice, in sweets, in bread, 56 00:03:25.550 --> 00:03:26.980 in thousands of recipes. 57 00:03:26.990 --> 00:03:28.169 Just as you like. 58 00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:34.639 From the jungle to the table, that's the motto at this gourmet restaurant 59 00:03:34.639 --> 00:03:36.500 in the Colombian capital. 60 00:03:38.110 --> 00:03:42.670 Chef Antonuela Ariza has discovered that guáimaro flour can be 61 00:03:42.670 --> 00:03:46.310 a versatile ingredient in practically any dish. 62 00:03:53.313 --> 00:03:58.160 It's a very universal product because it's a ground powder. 63 00:03:58.480 --> 00:04:01.300 You can use it as a kind of coating, for example. 64 00:04:01.640 --> 00:04:05.360 Today I mixed it with yucca to make the dough for my empanadas. 65 00:04:05.840 --> 00:04:08.180 It's very, very easy to use. 66 00:04:08.790 --> 00:04:12.590 And it has a really special taste, one that's unfamiliar. 67 00:04:12.590 --> 00:04:17.720 It is almost never used, despite the fact that it's so versatile, 68 00:04:17.720 --> 00:04:21.070 because the flour can be used in many different ways. 69 00:04:25.180 --> 00:04:30.000 Guáimaro is very aromatic, with a smell similar to coffee, cinnamon, 70 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:31.720 nutmeg or chocolate. 71 00:04:31.730 --> 00:04:34.420 So it's ideal for ice cream. 72 00:04:40.270 --> 00:04:44.190 Our ice cream recipe seeks to emphasize the special flavor 73 00:04:44.190 --> 00:04:45.250 of the nut. 74 00:04:45.710 --> 00:04:49.070 It helps us introduce it to people who may have no idea 75 00:04:49.070 --> 00:04:50.790 what guáimaro is. 76 00:04:50.800 --> 00:04:53.650 And so they get to know it for the first time. 77 00:04:56.230 --> 00:05:00.430 Collaboration with the scientific community is important to ensure 78 00:05:00.430 --> 00:05:03.610 that guests appreciate the novel product. 79 00:05:06.480 --> 00:05:11.040 In nutritional terms the seeds of the breadnut tree are really packed 80 00:05:11.050 --> 00:05:12.779 with healthy components. 81 00:05:13.480 --> 00:05:16.640 Studies have looked at that. 82 00:05:16.839 --> 00:05:19.940 The results show that it really is a kind of superfood. 83 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:24.440 And we want to share that realization with everyone. 84 00:05:26.050 --> 00:05:30.880 At the Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute 85 00:05:30.880 --> 00:05:32.216 in Villa de Leyva, 86 00:05:32.216 --> 00:05:37.300 Mónica Flores is doing in-depth work on guáimaro. 87 00:05:37.310 --> 00:05:42.443 She studies myths, tales and legends about the tree in indigenous communities, 88 00:05:42.443 --> 00:05:45.870 as well as its nutritional value and many uses. 89 00:05:46.150 --> 00:05:49.202 The guáimaro is a member of the Moraceae family, 90 00:05:49.202 --> 00:05:52.339 plants that are characterized by the fact that their leaves produce 91 00:05:52.339 --> 00:05:55.050 a milky sap called latex. 92 00:05:58.400 --> 00:06:01.500 The plant also has medicinal properties. 93 00:06:02.270 --> 00:06:05.990 The latex can be used as an ointment for some wounds. 94 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:11.540 It's also used to cleanse the stomach. 95 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:16.760 And the roots from guaimaro seedlings are used to treat 96 00:06:16.760 --> 00:06:20.420 urological conditions, and to purify the blood. 97 00:06:22.080 --> 00:06:25.360 Over 40% of the seed by weight is protein. 98 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:29.320 It also contains a lot of iron and healthy omega fatty acids. 99 00:06:29.560 --> 00:06:32.310 This gives it great potential as a product that can help 100 00:06:32.320 --> 00:06:34.140 ensure food security. 101 00:06:37.310 --> 00:06:41.550 A single tree can bear a lot of fruit in one season. 102 00:06:42.110 --> 00:06:45.390 You can even substitute it for meat or other proteins. 103 00:06:45.870 --> 00:06:49.750 And it can be a food source for a very large population. 104 00:06:50.110 --> 00:06:52.890 A single tree can feed a lot of people. 105 00:06:52.950 --> 00:06:55.740 For me, therefore, it's a superfood. 106 00:06:57.839 --> 00:07:02.620 The seeds are not only strengthening the economy in rural areas like Ovejas, 107 00:07:02.620 --> 00:07:07.887 but also highlighting the importance of Colombia's tropical dry forest, 108 00:07:07.887 --> 00:07:10.790 an ecosystem under threat from agriculture 109 00:07:10.790 --> 00:07:12.770 and livestock farming. 110 00:07:13.150 --> 00:07:17.470 The enormous roots of the Guáimaro tree grow very deep, 111 00:07:17.470 --> 00:07:19.650 so it's resistant to both drought and fire, 112 00:07:19.650 --> 00:07:23.583 making it an ally in the fight against malnutrition 113 00:07:23.583 --> 00:07:26.310 in an era of climate change.