Fall 2018
Introducing MealFlour’s new Program Coordinator
MealFlour is excited to announce our new Program Coordinator, Andrea Monzón. Andrea will be running our train-the-trainer program in partnership with Fundación Contra el Hambre (FH) in 2019. She will also be conducting research on how to optimize mealworm farming in the various climates of Guatemala.
Andrea Monzón is from Guatemala City and graduated as a Zootechnist from the University of San Carlos in Guatemala. She has worked on projects in sexual and reproductive health education, community organizing, food security, and soil, forest, and watershed conservation. Andrea maintained entomological and botanical collections at the Museum of Culture of the West in Quetzaltenango and she has experience in sustainable livestock projects and insect cultivation.
Ready for 2019 with FH
We are continuing to prepare for our 2019 program in Huehuetenango. In November and December, the MealFlour team went to Colotenango to work with the staff there to finalize plans for our train-the-trainer program. The test farm in the region is doing well and the FH staff and MealFlour toasted mealworms and made two mealworm recipes together.
Thank you to 4W at the University of Wisconsin for supporting part of this new program with a grant we received in partnership with MIGHTi. We are still looking for support so that we can reach as many people as we can in 2019.
Oats n’ mealworms: two ways
For a quick snack break, the MealFlour team tested out some new mortar and pestles to make a nutty mealworm cinnamon oatmeal! Using simple ingredients (mealworm powder, oats, cinnamon, and honey) we cooked the oats how they are traditionally eaten in the United States - warm, in a bowl, but not very liquid.
In Chimaltenango, using the same simple ingredients, the MealFlour farmers cooked the oats as it is traditionally eaten in Guatemala. The oats are cooked with a lot of water to create a hot, nutty (because of the mealworm powder), delicious drink - called ‘mosh’.
Entomophagy in Xela
If you will be in Guatemala on the 15th of December, come to Más Que K-Fe in Zona 1 in Xela for our first ‘Entomogia en Xela’ event!
We will be discussing edible insect in Guatemala and around the world and preparing different recipes made from mealworms. The event is also an opportunity for MealFlour farmers from the various departments we work in to come together and discuss their experiences. Join us from 12 - 2pm!
On to 2019…
Thank you for all of your support for the MealFlour program in 2018. We are excited to launch our largest program, which will be lead by our amazing and passionate Program Coordinator. Throughout the year, we will be collaborating with universities in Guatemala and the US so that we can share the results of our program, open source, with people around the world.
We are not doing a crowdfunding campaign this holiday season, but if you would like to support us as we continue to build the case for a more environmentally sustainable, nutritious, and delicious protein source, please donate: http://www.mealflour.org/donate/
¡Gracias!
Questions or comments? E-mail us at elizabeth@mealflour.org