Growing Guatemala’s Green Gold

Welcome back to Harvesters’ Corner! Today we are going down to Central America, specifically the country of Guatemala. Home to the ancient Mayan civilization, this mountainous country has a population over 17.5 million people crammed into an area roughly 42,000 square miles (almost 109,000 km2), making it comparable in size to the US state of Tennessee (42,114 sq. miles/109,153 km2). (1) The standards of living are low, as is the average per-capita income. The latter runs roughly $5,000 US per year.

Much of the economy in Guatemala is driven by agriculture. The region of Alta Verapaz, located in Guatemala’s central region, is one of the pre-eminent growing regions for Guatemala’s Green Gold: Cardamom. The hot, humid weather combines with the nutrient rich soil to create an environment conducive to the growth of the plant. However, the “nutrient rich soil” comes at a cost, namely the fact the Guatemala is home to thirty-seven named volcanos, including the most active in Guatemala, Volcan de Fuego.

Why Cardamom?

Cardamom is a close relative of ginger and is highly prized as a spice in cooking as well as in the perfume industry. Cardamom plants last about seven years. As they require two to three years to mature, this allows for a period of four to five years for crop harvesting. The seedpods of the plant are the source of the oil. Each pod produces on average ten to twenty seeds. Once extracted from the shell, seeds are dried for about thirty-six hours. Then they are sold, either for spice use or oil production. Most cardamom goes to the spice markets of the world. (A spice, one may say. Yes, a spice. One which, I may add from personal experience, partners well with cinnamon!)

Most cardamom growers in Guatemala are small-scale farmers, often working in co-ops in order to get better pricing for their products on the market. These farmers are precisely the type of individuals doTERRA’s Co-Impact Sourcing looks for when new markets open up. As part of the benefits given to these growers, Co-Impact Sourcing provides the following:

• Farmers are provided with bi-weekly training about best practices for growing cardamom.

• Farmers also get hands-on experience so they can see the positive effects of these practices in their own fields.

• As a result of this training, farmers can grow higher quality and increased quantity of cardamom – and therefore receive a higher price for their product. (2)

A big challenge these growers faced concerning the quality of their crop is the limited shelf-life of cardamom. The seed pods maintain optimum freshness for three days once harvested. Farmers were getting pods to drying centers past the peak freshness time due to distances to the facilities. Co-Impact Sourcing decided to bring the facilities closer, by building a new drying plant and distillery in Alta Verapaz. This now allows farmers to take their crop to the drying center the day of harvest, at the peak of its freshness. (2)

In addition to the above benefits, Co-Impact Sourcing also provides additional funding for facilities, such as the above-mentioned drying center, as well as schools and medical facilities. In Alta Verapaz’ instance, Co-Impact Sourcing partnered with the Healing Hands Foundation to provide medical services for the farmers, with Co-Impact Sourcing building the hospital, and Healing Hands funding the doctor’s first year of service. He has since built up his practice, making him self-sufficient. (3)

Emily Wright, Founding Executive and President of doTERRA, has expressed much enthusiasm with the progress Co-Impact Sourcing and Healing Hands have made in Guatemala. “I am so excited for what the future holds as our Co-Impact Sourcing initiatives begin to bless the lives of these humble, hard-working people. Sustainable jobs are being created, education and health care are more readily available, and a new perspective on the quality of life is given. We are committed to lifting up this community of Cardamom harvesters and many others.” (3)

Life for the cardamom growers has improved since 2016. A new school at Tzuncoc has increased student capacity through the replacement of a rundown, four room building with dirt floor designed for thirty-four pupils, with a modern building housing an office, six classrooms, two restrooms and a kitchen, capable of serving 129 students. A new suspension bridge has been built over a nearby river, so children can get to the schoolhouse easier, especially in flood season. (4)

A Pillar of Smoke and Fire

Then, in 2018, Volcon del Fuego erupted. Pyroclastic plumes of smoke and ash spread across the countryside, turning the verdant emerald-green landscape into a harsh, lifeless gray still-life. Roofs collapsed from ash, water lines were broken from earthquakes, and nearly 200 people lost their lives, making the 2018 eruption one of the deadliest in the country. (5)

Healing Hands was quick to respond, with emergency disaster relief kits to see to the people’s immediate needs. Supplies were soon on the way to repair roofs and waterlines, bringing life-giving water back to those who needed it. Through Co-Impact Sourcing, 333 people are directly connected to jobs associated with the production of Cardamom oil in Guatemala, as of the end of 2022, with 1,598 lives supported by those jobs. Healing Hands provided support to 1,630 people in need as a result of projects the foundation took on.

As the years progress, cardamom growers are receiving better returns on their products through their involvement with Co-Impact Sourcing. Their children are also receiving better returns, as their education increases, and their lives are bettered through what they learn in school. To help support the cardamom growers in Guatemala, click here to purchase a bottle of cardamom essential oil. It is certified as Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) by the Food and Drug Administration, meaning this oil can be used safely in cooking and in beverages. To support the Healing Hands Foundation, click here.

Please subscribe and share this blog with your friends. As always, if you have had experiences with cardamom, or have used it in recipes, feel free to share in the comments below. Thank you for your time, and we’ll see you next time here at Harvesters’ Corner.

Sources:

1. Wikipedia: “Guatemala.” <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guatemala#Economy> Accesses 15 October 2023.

2. doTERRA Source to You. <https://sourcetoyou.com/en/stories/story/cardamom> Accessed 13 October 2023.

3. Co-Impact Sourcing and the doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation in Guatemala. <https://www.doterra.com/SG/en_SG/co-impact-sourcing-cardamom> Accessed 13 October 2023.

4. Healing Hands Foundation.

5. Wikipedia: “2018 Volcan de Fuego Eruption.” Accessed 13 October 2023.