![]() ![]() The cooperative, made up mostly of women, saw the potential in cashew trees. The previous year, the WFP had begun to work with vulnerable families, teaching them how to make best use of the land and grow various fruit and vegetables. We weren’t able to take advantage of the few resources we had.” Even if we had potential, we couldn’t fulfil it without knowing how. “Poverty comes accompanied by little money but also a lack of knowledge. “The situation here in 2018 was terrible,” she says. ![]() The trees were already present in the area but no one knew how to harness their potential, explains cooperative president Hilda Betancourt. I’ve seen people able to buy their own land and educate their children, who have then gone into professions Almi Martínez, cashew company presidentĪlvarez is one of 38 members of the community cooperative Caja Rural 15 de Enero, formed in 2018, and focusing on cashew trees. You have to look for and give alternatives so that people can provide for, and feed, themselves.”Ĭashew trees don’t need much water they improve the condition of the soil and provide a habitat for flora and fauna the climate is favourable for growing them and the trees provide wood, fruit and seeds – all of which can be sold. “It’s better to have a mixture of crops because people need diversity. It is an approach that the World Food Programme (WFP) is advocating for those experiencing high levels of food insecurity in the region, says Gustavo Tábora, field monitor of the WFP in Choluteca. Native to Honduras, alongside traditional crops such as corn, beans and yuca, cashews could be a way for people in this area to build resilience and adapt to the effects of the climate crisis, he adds. In response, more people in the region are pivoting to cashew trees and harvesting the seeds, explains Manzanares. “Everything floods, or it’s the opposite – it doesn’t rain. “The dry corridor has big problems in terms of being vulnerable to climate change,” says Danilo Manzanares, coordinator of Mesa Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional, a steering group seeking solutions to drought in the south of Honduras. Photograph: Orlando Sierra/AFP/Getty ImagesĮl Triunfo lies within the dry corridor – an area of Central America that covers parts of Honduras as well as El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Costa Rica. Because of the acid level, cashew apples work better when blended with other fruit as part of a fruit juice drink or when mixed in smoothies.Damaged corn in rural Choluteca, where drought, plagues and unpredictable rains caused by climate crisis often affect crops. In fact, the cashew apple contains considerably more acid than a citrus fruit like the orange. The cashew apple is much more acidic than the apples we are used to eating. It is red in color and contains a good amount of Vitamin C. The fruit of the cashew tree is sometimes called the cashew apple. Most people think of the nut when you mention cashews, but in addition to the nut, the fruit produced by the plant is edible and nutritious and it is similar to other fruits we are accustomed to eating. According to my friend, the trees require little to no care and the ones in his yard are thriving. There are several people in my friend's neighborhood who planted the trees, and everyone else's trees are gifts from the bats. Unknown to me, fruit bats really enjoy the fruit produced by the trees and they routinely eat the fruit and then spread the seeds via their digestive systems, or they simply carry the fruit and end up dropping parts of the fruit, including the seeds, in other locations. He never planted a single cashew tree, yet he has a yard full of them. I have a friend who lives in a climate where the weather is warm all year long, with slight variations from summer to winter. There are ways to get around the protective fluid, but harvesting the nut is not as easy as cracking a pecan shell and claiming the nut. The shells of the cashew nut contain a caustic liquid that can be very damaging and painful when it comes in contact with human skin. Harvesting the nuts can actually be a bit of a chore. ![]() What are Some Different Kinds of Edible Nuts?Ĭashew trees are relatively easy to grow, but if you think having your own tree is an easy and convenient way to get the great tasting nuts produced by the tree then you should do a little more research. ![]()
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