Case studies UNDP: ALIMENTOS NUTRI-NATURALES (ANSA), Guatemala
-
Upload
undpenvironment -
Category
Documents
-
view
214 -
download
0
Transcript of Case studies UNDP: ALIMENTOS NUTRI-NATURALES (ANSA), Guatemala
7/27/2019 Case studies UNDP: ALIMENTOS NUTRI-NATURALES (ANSA), Guatemala
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/case-studies-undp-alimentos-nutri-naturales-ansa-guatemala 1/10
Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient communities
Guatemala
ALIMENTOSNUTRI-NATURALES
Empowered live
Resilient nation
7/27/2019 Case studies UNDP: ALIMENTOS NUTRI-NATURALES (ANSA), Guatemala
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/case-studies-undp-alimentos-nutri-naturales-ansa-guatemala 2/10
UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES
Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that wo
or people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadth
their impacts, or how they change over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories with community practition
themselves guiding the narrative.
To mark its 10-year anniversary, the Equator Initiative aims to ll this gap. The ollowing case study is one in a growing ser
that details the work o Equator Prize winners – vetted and peer-reviewed best practices in community-based environmenconservation and sustainable livelihoods. These cases are intended to inspire the policy dialogue needed to take local succ
to scale, to improve the global knowledge base on local environment and development solutions, and to serve as models
replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to ‘The Power of Local Action: Lessons from 10 Years
the Equator Prize’, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.
Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiative’s searchable case study database.
EditorsEditor-in-Chief: Joseph Corcoran
Managing Editor: Oliver HughesContributing Editors: Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Erin Lewis, Whitney Wilding
Contributing WritersEdayatu Abieodun Lamptey, Erin Atwell, Toni Blackman, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Larissa Currado, Sarah Gordon, Oliver Hughe
Wen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Patrick Lee, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma,
Mary McGraw, Gabriele Orlandi, Brandon Payne, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding, Luna Wu
DesignOliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Amy Korngiebel, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen, Lorena de la Pa
Brandon Payne, Mariajosé Satizábal G.
AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude Alimentos Nutri-Naturales, and in particular the guidance and inputs o Gla
Rodriguez, as well as Ramón Zetina o the Rainorest Alliance, and Erika Vohman o The Equilibrium Fund. All photo credits courtesy
Ramón Zetina (Rainorest Alliance) and Whitney Wilding (UNDP Equator Initiative). Maps courtesy o CIA World Factbook and Wikiped
Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2012. Alimentos Nutri-Naturales, Guatemala. Equator Initiative Case Study Series. New York,
7/27/2019 Case studies UNDP: ALIMENTOS NUTRI-NATURALES (ANSA), Guatemala
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/case-studies-undp-alimentos-nutri-naturales-ansa-guatemala 3/10
PROJECT SUMMARYAlimentos Nutri-Naturales Sociedad Anónima (ANSA) is
a group o independent businesses, entirely owned and
operated by women, which harvest, process, and sell the
abundant and rarely utilized Maya nut (Brosimum alicastrum).
The nut was once a staple ood or the ancient Mayans but
is threatened with extinction due to the spread o logging
and conversion o land to agriculture. In the buer zone o
the Maya Biosphere Reserve, this initiative has employed
community members to process these locally-available
nuts to eed their amilies and generate income.
The group has also developed a project to combat
malnutrition and dependence on imported oodstus by
marketing Maya nut-based school lunches in local districts.
By empowering local women throughout the region with
the opportunities associated with the Maya nut business,
the initiative is improving amily nutrition, health, and
income.
KEY FACTS
EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2006
FOUNDED: 2005
LOCATION: Petén Department
BENEFICIARIES: 85 families
BIODIVERSITY: Maya nut trees (Brosimum alicastrum)
3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Background and Context 4
Key Activities and Innovations 6
Biodiversity Impacts 7
Socioeconomic Impacts 7
Policy Impacts 8
Sustainability 9
Replication 9
Partners 9
ALIMENTOS NUTRI-NATURALESGuatemala
7/27/2019 Case studies UNDP: ALIMENTOS NUTRI-NATURALES (ANSA), Guatemala
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/case-studies-undp-alimentos-nutri-naturales-ansa-guatemala 4/10
4
Alimentos Nutri-Naturales Sociedad Anónima (ANSA) is aommunity-based women’s initiative that addresses issues o ood
ecurity and conservation in the Petén region o Guatemala. ANSA
was ounded in 2005 when a small group o women rom the village
Ixlú were trained in the potential uses o the Maya nut, a orest
roduct once eaten by their ancient Mayan ancestors but long-since
orgotten. The women began collecting and processing the nuts or
heir own consumption and to sell locally. This activity eventually
volved into a business which incorporated more women into the
arvesting and production processes. In 2008 and 2009, ANSA
xpanded its production, increased domestic sales, and began
o export its products to larger markets, thus entering a period o
ramatic growth.
Maya nut harvesting
Maya nut is the seed o Brosimum alicastrum, a large rainorest
ree which was once abundant throughout Central America but is
ow highly threatened (and in certain regions extinct) due in large
measure to the elling o trees or rewood and land conversion or
gricultural use, primarily corn arms. Further, the species displays
eproductive irregularities, such as recalcitrant seeds and age-
elated hermaphroditism, which contribute to its vulnerability. When
ealthy, however, Brosimum alicastrum produces what are locally
nown as ‘Maya nuts’. The nuts are bright green, roughly the size o
macadamia nuts, and can be harvested on the ground in a way that
does not damage the soil, orests, water, or animals. Collectortrained to only collect one third o what is produced, leaving
third or natural reorestation and one third or animal consump
Maya nuts are much higher in vitamins, minerals, and protein
traditionally cultivated crops o the region. They are remarkably
in ber, calcium, potassium, olate, iron, zinc, protein and vita
A and B. Another comparative advantage is that the nuts are h
versatile and can be used resh and boiled or dried and roaste
a wide variety o sweet and savory dishes. Fresh nuts can be
to make tamales, tortillas, pies, croquettes, burgers, stir ry, m
potato salad, soup, sauces and dumplings. When dried and roa
Maya nuts taste like chocolate or coee and can be used to m
cake, cookies, cereal, hot and cold drinks, pancakes, pudding,other dishes. The nutritional, health and ood security implicat
or local communities are sel-evident.
Harvest sites and land tenure securitization
The orests where the women o Alimentos Nutri-Natu
Sociedad Anónima collect Maya nuts are under the managem
and authority o the National Council o Protected Areas (CON
the governing body o the Maya Biosphere Reserve and all ore
lands in Guatemala. The orests have been steadily degraded
deorested, and now support little wildlie and contain low le
o plant diversity. One o the primary reasons the remaining o
Background and Context
“Become empowered in the use of the Maya nut for the nutrition of people, for forest restoratio
and for the reforestation of this species. Protect the Maya nut tree for your benefit and for futur
generations.”
Ramón Zetina, Rainforest Alliance
7/27/2019 Case studies UNDP: ALIMENTOS NUTRI-NATURALES (ANSA), Guatemala
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/case-studies-undp-alimentos-nutri-naturales-ansa-guatemala 5/10
55
ave not been elled and converted to pasture land is because local
attle ranchers recognize the importance o Maya nut seeds and
eaves in sustaining cattle during the dry season when pastures dry
p.
he eight harvest sites used by ANSA collectors are unctionally
egraded patches o orest located in the buer zone o the reserve.
hese buer zones are communal lands which are deeded to
ndividuals or one hundred year intervals. To gain collection rightsn the buer zone, ANSA had to develop a Maya Nut Management
lan, which outlined the number seeds participating women would
ommercialize each year. Projections were established based on
normed projections o how much seed could be harvested without
amaging natural regeneration o the trees or adversely aecting
wildlie populations. The management plan was then submitted to,
nd subsequently approved by, the National Council o Protected
Areas.
A women-led initiative for sustainable livelihoods
he catalyst or the project was the issue o ood insecurity, and
he health challenges this continued to pose or rural Guatemalan
ommunities and amilies. Architects o the initiative understood
hat any lasting solution to the ood security challenge needed to
be locally driven. The Maya nut oers nutritional benets, is ou
abundance in the Mayan orest, is easily processed, does not req
any specialized technology, and can be used to make a wide va
o dishes and products. It also has roots in Mayan culture, givi
resonance with the local population.
ANSA aims to mobilize rural women to protect local orests,
watersheds, and wildlie, and to promote the Maya Nut a
alternative ood source, thus combating ood insecurity, malnutr
and poverty. The larger vision o the company is to become
remain a leader in the development and production o Maya
based ood products or the benet o the local population, pla
a special emphasis on children’s health. The vision has not chan
since the company was ounded; rather, it has been strengthe
through training initiatives and through the establishment
network o women collectors which ensures that they always enough raw materials to meet the needs o their amilies and o
community.
Women harvesters are expected to rst and oremost meet the
security needs o their amilies. Beyond this, harvest surpluse
sold to ANSA. During the harvest season, 85 amilies earn an inc
by collecting nuts rom the orest and selling them to the associa
There are also ten women who work in a four production acility,
women working in teams o two on the ollowing tasks: nut was
and drying, toasting, grinding, packaging, and administra
The small company is governed a General Assembly which di
company policy. Overall operations are managed by a CEO,
serves as the president and legal representative o the companyan accountant who is in charge o keeping nancial records o
company and perorming secretarial duties. A number o part
also provide value-added support to the association, inclu
notably Rainorest Alliance who provide technical assistance
sourcing Maya nut products to local, national and internat
markets. To eectively manage growth and ensure the reinvest
o revenues into community services and inrastructure, the com
created a social arm, Asociación de Mujeres para el desarroll
Ixlú, Flores Petén (ADEMIX), which now serves as a vehicle or
development.
7/27/2019 Case studies UNDP: ALIMENTOS NUTRI-NATURALES (ANSA), Guatemala
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/case-studies-undp-alimentos-nutri-naturales-ansa-guatemala 6/10
6
Key Activities and Innovations
Alimentos Nutri-Naturales Sociedad Anónima’s primary activity is
he purchase o raw Maya nuts rom rural women collectors, which
hey then process, package, and sell in the orm o four, coee
ubstitute, and baked products. The women running ANSA are also
ctively engaged in awareness-raising campaigns and trainings
o improve local knowledge and understanding o the nutritional
benets o the Maya nut. At trainings and workshops, the issues o
orest conservation, reorestation and public health receive greatest
mphasis. Local women are also instructed on dierent ways in
which Maya nut can be incorporated into their diets and those o
heir children. Awareness campaigns are targeted to the poorest
ommunities in the region, particularly rural arm amilies. The
arget population includes all inhabitants o Petén, Izabal, and AltaVerapaz, the areas where Maya nut is abundant, where harvesting is
viable livelihood option, and where training will have the greatest
kelihood o producing new collectors.
he association reports yearly growth and progress in training, Maya
ut harvesting, and four production. In the case o the latter, four
production has increased rom 4,500 pounds in the rst year o
operation to 30,000 pounds in recent years. The company reports
hat more than 3,000 rural amilies have received training in Maya
ut harvesting and processing.
Healthy Kids, Healthy Forests”
One o the most pioneering activities o the company has been
he ‘Healthy Kids, Healthy Forests’ program, launched in 2008
n partnership with the Maya Nut Institute, BanRural, Rainorest
Alliance, the Ministry o Education, and the Ministry o Agriculture.
he program works through the Government o Guatemala to
provide Maya-nut based lunches and snacks at schools across
he country. Due to its aordability and popularity, a oundation
as subsequently been ormed to manage ‘Healthy Kids, Healthy
orests’. It is now an independent organization, managed by a local
board o directors and sta and is another step toward nancial and
ood independence or the Guatemalan people. As a result o
program, the Guatemalan Ministry o the Environment na
the planting o 250,000 new Maya Nut seedlings in the reg
These seedlings will one day provide over 3 million pounds o
per year or these communities, representing a long-term solu
to problems o malnutrition and ood insecurity in the regio
addition to the environmental services they provide (protectio
soils and watersheds, biodiversity, and mitigation o climate cha
The company is noteworthy or oering a solution to the mo
problems o ood security, malnutrition and poverty by reintrodu
a traditional practice and crop. The initiative came toge
organically, through grassroots action, with rural women wotogether to nd a viable alternative or eeding their children
improving their livelihoods. Maya nut harvesting requires
technology transer, and is based on local knowledge and a M
cultural tradition. The initiative represents a leading examp
an endogenously evolved solution to a local problem and
demonstrated impressive results in reducing rates o malnutri
inant mortality and maternal mortality in the communities o
region. Knowledge transer has also taken place woman-to-wo
through direct, ace-to-ace dialogue. The initiative then u
stands out as an example o emale leadership and empowerm
as well as a unctional testament to the transormative pow
peer-to-peer learning.
“Nature can live without man, but man cou
never survive without nature.”
Ramón Zetina, Rainforest Alliance
7/27/2019 Case studies UNDP: ALIMENTOS NUTRI-NATURALES (ANSA), Guatemala
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/case-studies-undp-alimentos-nutri-naturales-ansa-guatemala 7/10
7
Impacts
BIODIVERSITY IMPACTSANSA has successully introduced an incentive structure or the local
population to protect their orests. By demonstrating the economic
value – as well as the health and nutrition benets – o the Maya
nut, ANSA has been able to instill a orest conservation ethic that
s unctionally linked to a traditional practice and resource. Local
people are now exerting less pressure on surrounding orests,
hoosing the sustainable and low-impact practice o Maya nut
ollection over unsustainable non-timber orest product collection
nd hunting wildlie. The reorestation o this multi-purpose tree has
lso been credited with greater resilience to natural disasters.
As a result o the ‘Healthy Kids, Healthy Forests’ program, Guatemalan
hildren are learning to appreciate the nutritional and environmental
value o the Maya Nut, a message that they are taking back home
o their parents, who have become more interested in reoresting
with Maya Nut than they had been previously. With its multiple
environmental benets, the Maya nut tree is ideal or reorestation.
As the largest tree in the orest, reaching up to 45 meters (130 eet),
he species is an important source o ood or wildlie, provides
habitat or local biodiversity, and contributes to watershed and soil
protection as well as carbon sequestration.
ince the project began, approximately 35,000 Brosimum alicastrum
rees have been planted over 32 acres o land in the Departmento Petén in order to strengthen the orests, degraded lands, and
watersheds on which at least thirty rural communities depend.
Additionally, the dissemination o inormation on the Maya nut’s
ocial, environmental, and economic benets has resulted in
greements to protect the tree in all the orest concessions in the
Multiple Use Zone o the Maya Biosphere Reserve.
To date, no ormal biodiversity monitoring and evaluation has been
put in place by the initiative. However, evidence o the abundance
o Brosimum alicastrum within the Multiple Use Zone o the
Maya Biosphere Reserve has been documented in the integrated
management plans. Local people and collectors have also provtestimonials as to vast improvements in human health and incre
in animal populations in the orests. ANSA hopes to benet r
quantitative assessment by a multidisciplinary team in the utu
SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS
In terms o poverty reduction, the Maya nut oers rural am
an opportunity to gain extra money in order to meet dom
needs and also adds nutrition to the local diet, thereby helpin
improve overall ood security. O those who have been train
the collection o the nut, most are rural women who live on less
two dollars a day. Families who collect the Maya nut can earn u
200 quetzals (or USD 50) per day in the high season. There are
7/27/2019 Case studies UNDP: ALIMENTOS NUTRI-NATURALES (ANSA), Guatemala
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/case-studies-undp-alimentos-nutri-naturales-ansa-guatemala 8/10
harvesting seasons per year, rom March to May and rom September
o November. In addition, 85 temporary and 10 permanent jobs
have been created at the actory. ANSA also directly supports local
communities by donating a portion o the four produced to schools
and storing dried seeds and four in case o ood shortages. Maya
nut can be stored or up to ve years, making it an excellent ood or
egions prone to requent drought and ood insecurity.
The ‘Healthy Kids, Healthy Forests’ program provides over 8,000children rom 45 rural schools with Maya Nut-based school
unches. As a result o this program, the Guatemalan Ministry o
he Environment nanced the planting o 800,000 new Maya Nut
eedlings in the region. Since one Maya nut tree can produce up to
400 pounds o ood per year, these seedlings will one day provide
over three hundred million pounds o ood per year or local
communities. This campaign presents a long term solution to the
problems o malnutrition and ood insecurity in the region. Maya
nut leaves are also used as odder or cows and goats, providing yet
another benet or rural amilies. Due to the multiple uses o the
ree, armers and ranchers are increasingly interested in arming the
nut, the ormer or their own nutrition and the latter or odder in
imes o crisis.
Women are the primary beneciaries o ANSA programs. Experi
has shown that improving socio-economic conditions or wo
results in improved conditions or the entire amily. The women
participate in ANSA activities now eel empowered, have gain
degree o nancial independence, and are learning organizat
and business skills. Participating women also take pride in
act that they are an active part o an economically bene
and environmentally riendly activity that is based on tradit
knowledge and ancient culture.
POLICY IMPACTS
While the company’s primary political infuence has been at
local level, ANSA’s promotion o the Maya nut has resulted in gre
appreciation and awareness o its benets at multiple scales. Pri
among those who now have an interest in the species is the Nat
Council o Protected Areas who have committed to protecting
its social economic and environmental benets. While no region
national laws have been created as a direct result o the organiza
the ‘Healthy Kids, Healthy Forests’ program is oered nation-w
The message that ANSA hopes to convey is that developing
multi-purpose plant can help to combat child malnutritionhunger o the poor, ood insecurity, and climate change.
8
7/27/2019 Case studies UNDP: ALIMENTOS NUTRI-NATURALES (ANSA), Guatemala
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/case-studies-undp-alimentos-nutri-naturales-ansa-guatemala 9/10
9
Sustainability and Replication
SUSTAINABILITYhe key component that makes this project sustainable is, above all,
nancial support. The act that government institutions encourage
he purchase o the product or schools, hospitals, and military
arracks has made it possible to expand the demand or this
roduct. Local sales and certain international companies who buy
he product have also been critical.
n order to achieve sustainable growth, a strategic plan was recently
eveloped which integrates the results o an analysis o the
ompany’s current situation and the goals o the members or the
ext three years. This plan aims to strengthen ANSA as a company,o improve its organizational, accounting, and production systems,
nd to increase sales through marketing networks on local, national,
nd international scales. ANSA has also established a business plan
ased on a market analysis and an analysis o the company’s nancial
ndicators. The environmental sustainability o the project has had a
ositive impact on product sales.
REPLICATION
n the Department o Petén, the program has reached over 300
illages in Alta Verapaz, (a neighboring department) as well as
illages on the southern coast o Guatemala, several communities in
zabal (Eastern Guatemala), and San Jose Socotz (Belize). ANSA hasrovided Maya nut training to roughly 30,000 amilies across all the
orementioned regions.
o raise awareness about the project model and the benets o Maya
ut cultivation and harvesting, ANSA has employed radio, television,
ewspapers. On-site trainings are also oered in economically
marginalized communities and those suering most acutely rom
ood insecurity. At these trainings, ANSA sta oer Maya nut-based
ood products to participating communities to demonstrate the
multiple uses o the resource.
PARTNERS The central partners to the initiative are the Maya Nut Inst
Rainorest Alliance, Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganaderia, Minis
de la Economia, INTECAP, AGEXPORT, and INAB-National Guatem
Forestry Institute.
7/27/2019 Case studies UNDP: ALIMENTOS NUTRI-NATURALES (ANSA), Guatemala
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/case-studies-undp-alimentos-nutri-naturales-ansa-guatemala 10/10
Equator Initiative
Environment and Energy GroupUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
304 East 45th Street, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Tel: +1 646 781-4023
www.equatorinitiative.org
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s global development network, advocating or change
onnecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better lie.
The Equator Initiative brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses and grassroots organizati
o recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions or people, nature and resilient communities.
©2012 by Equator Initiative
All rights reserved
FURTHER REFERENCE
Maya Nut Institute website mayanutinstitute.org/
Alimentos Nutri-Naturales Photo Story (Vimeo) vimeo.com/24282685
Click the thumbnails below to read more case studies like this: