Nicaraguan women learning to cook with Maya Nut. Erika Vohman photo
Maya Nut Institute has been training rural and indigenous women and youth to harvest, process and cook with Maya Nut since 2001. We train and certify Maya Nut promoters to teach communities about Maya Nut. Our promoters have trained more than 20,000 women from approximately 1950 communities in Haiti, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Peru, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico about the food value and recipes with Maya Nut. During these workshops, participants have an opportunity to share their personal experiences with Maya Nut and their stories provide a rich and rewarding history of Maya Nut in each community.
We teach a one-day hands-on workshop in which women and youth learn about the nutritional content of Maya Nut, how to harvest it, how to cook it in different recipes, and how to plant and care for Maya Nut trees. These workshops are offered for groups of up to 25 women and can be translated into any local language.
Participants in the workshops always take some of the dishes they prepare home to their families to taste. Most participants (>89%) have never eaten Maya Nut before, even though they may have heard that it is edible. Maya Nut is highly stigmatized in rural latin America and this is probably why most people have never eaten it. The Maya Nut cooking workshops are an effective way to introduce people to Maya Nut because the dishes are so delicious!
Maya Nut Nutrition and Cooking Fun-damentals ($500, 1 day)
This is a basic level course and is an excellent way to motivate families and communities to protect Maya Nut forests and to plant Maya Nut trees. This course is highly recommended for government institutions and NGOs working on community-based resource management, and species and habitat-protection programs.
“I never really noticed the Maya Nut trees before and I’m sad to tell you I cut about 20 of them this year to plant my corn. After my wife took the Maya Nut cooking class we realized this tree is very valuable. I will never cut Maya Nut trees again”- Francisco Lara, Sisa, Honduras
Maya Nut “Green Ranching” Course ($1,000, 2-3 days)
This course is taught by Gelio Cuellar, of FONAGRO, Guatemala. This is an intermediate level course and teaches landowners everything they need to know to establish Maya Nut agroforestry plots, including Maya Nut propagation, land preparation, plantation establishment and management, intercropping, pruning and animal husbandry.
Maya Nut Producer Certification Course ($3,000, 1-2 weeks)
This course is taught by certified producers and/or certification inspectors and prepares producers for their Certification Inspection. Because full certification can take 3 years to complete, there may be additional costs incurred after course completion.
Maya Nut Trainer Certification Course ($1300, 1 week)
This course is taught by Maya Nut Institute certified trainers and participants will receive their Maya Nut Trainer Certification upon completion of the course. Contact us for course dates
Since 2001 Maya Nut Institute has trained more than 50,000 rural and indigenous women and girls in Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Haiti, Peru and Colombia about Maya Nut for food and income.
We have taught more than 500 women to sustainably harvest, process and package Maya Nut for local, national and international markets. Many of these women are currently working toward certifying their products with Maya Nut Certified™ with the help of our certification inspector/trainers.
We have taught more than 700 farmers and ranchers to plant and manage Maya Nut plantations for fodder as an alternative to pasture.
As the global experts in Maya Nut education, we are committed to providing the best, most accurate and up-to-date information in our trainings. All of our trainers are trained in “action learning” methodology, which is the best way for illiterate and semi-literate people to learn. We never rely on a computer or powerpoint for our trainings and no reading or formal education is needed. We teach Maya Nut workshops in Spanish, English, Kreyol, Quek’chi, Totonac, Miskito and Quechua.