Reading Life's Textbook in Guatemala

BYU agronomy and nutrition interns work to improve life in Chiquimula, Guatemala. Teaching programs were established, and child nutrition was analyzed.

 

At the establishment of the Benson Agriculture and Food Institute in 1975, Ezra Taft Benson commented on the association between Brigham Young University and its new international extension organization:

“It is fitting that this institute have its beginning here at BYU, a place of learning with a worldwide reputation for its pursuit of excellence. As we look to the need for developing nations to learn how to use the resources they already have to feed and clothe their people, it becomes obvious that BYU is uniquely qualified to assume a role of leadership” (Benson, 1999).

BYU interns to Guatemala, 1999

The College of Biology and Agriculture abounds in students involved in agricultural and nutritional studies with international interests and a desire to serve. BYU President Merrill J. Bateman recently addressed a new objective for BYU: “Advance truth and knowledge to enhance the education of students, enrich the quality of life and contribute to a resolution of world problems” (Bateman, 1999). The annual internship in Latin America offered by the Benson Institute allows students to meet this goal directly by participating in third-world improvement projects related to their fields of study.

The 1999 spring internship at the Chiquimula office of the Benson Institute extended educational service opportunities to seven BYU students. Under the direction of international coordinators Luis V. Espinoza and Dr. Malaquías Q. Flores, the interns spent spring term learning what no textbook can teach.

Chiquimula, Guatemala

The Guatemalan province of Chiquimula lies in the southeastern portion of the country. The Institute’s office is situated in the area’s largest city, Chiquimula. The residents of the villages surrounding Chiquimula subsist on corn and beans, the crops traditionally grown in the marginal land of the area. The monotonous diet and poor agricultural situation are the greatest health and economic obstacles of these people.

The Institute sponsors Guatemalan university students fulfilling graduation requirements. BYU interns assist these Guatemalan students with their projects and participate in activities of their own. From giving nutritional lessons at elementary schools to encouraging erosion prevention on sloped farmland, the BYU students help the people of Guatemala surmount economic and educational obstacles with resourcefulness.

Nutrition

Four Brigham Young University nutrition students joined the Benson Institute’s Guatemala project for seven weeks. Jacqueline Brown and Jaycie Fidel, nutritional science majors, and Amber Smith and Karen McGrew, dietetics majors, advanced hygienic and nutritional improvements in the mountain communities of Chiquimula. They prepared and presented pertinent lessons to the community women and children.

Fidel weighs breakfast portions at the local school.

Promoting the use of soybean in the village diet occupied much of the nutrition students’ efforts. Soybean, a nontraditional crop in the three communities, contains high quality protein and fat, two essential additions to the protein- and calorie-deficient village diet. On a weekly basis in each community approximately 20 women gathered for demonstrations of recipes involving soybean, an ingredient foreign to traditional Guatemalan cooking. At these sessions the interns instructed groups of several women in the preparation of soy milk, soy patties, and soy-fortified tortillas, basic recipes advancing the use of soybean in the diet (see Figure 1 for the soy patty recipe). The students and local women experimented with flavorings and soy-to-corn ratios to achieve appealing and nutritious dishes.

The four BYU students also associated with the village women in presenting health and nutrition training sessions. At gatherings similar to the recipe sessions, besides discussions on the nutritional importance of soybean, the Institute’s interns held discussions with the women concerning parasite and disease prevention.

In coordination with the teachers at the community elementary schools, the nutrition students also presented lessons to the youth. Each school group was trained to eat a healthful breakfast, prevent parasitic infection, and use animal products in the diet. The school children flocked to the lessons with hearty enthusiasm and involvement. Amber Smith remarked in her internship report that “we were able to let the students know that we were excited to be in their communities and were eager to help them.” Working with children is the foundation of successful change.

The Guatemalan government funds school breakfasts for these rural students. The breakfasts, prepared by volunteering mothers and served daily, had not been nutritionally evaluated. To accomplish the task, the BYU students visited each school in the Benson Institute communities on three separate days during the breakfast hour and measured the amount of food served to randomly selected children. By using the computer program Nutritionist IV for the final analysis, they discovered that the breakfasts are poorly regulated; portion size and preparation technique fluctuate in each school with the rotation of volunteers and the order in which the children are served. The interns left a recommendation that the breakfasts be monitored to permit a consistent evaluation of the food’s nutritional content.

Figure 1. Recipe for soybean patties
2 cups of soybeans 1 cup corn flour 1 egg onion, chili pepper, tomato, cilantro, pepper, parsley, and salt to taste cooking oil	Soak the soybeans overnight in water. Spread the soaked beans in a warm, sunny place until dry. When the beans are dry, heat a frying pan and toast the soybeans, moving constantly for a uniform color and to avoid burns. Allow to cool. Grind the beans into flour and store in a tightly closed container until use. Add water to the soy flour and corn flour to create dough. Finely mince the onion, cilantro, parsley, and chili pepper. Add the minced vegetables, pepper, and salt to the soy dough, mixing well. Add the egg to the dough and vegetable mixture and mix well. Form patties. Add oil to a frying pan and heat. Fry the patties until golden.

Agronomy

Brigham Young University students Merrill Dibble and Jessica Hess; agronomy majors, and Susan Eldredge; botany major, served as interns of the Benson Institute agronomists. The Benson Institute agronomy projects in Salitrón, Chancó, and Corral de Piedra, the Institute’s beneficiary communities, focus on improving farming conditions faced by the village producers so that economic and nutritional needs can be met.

Students in Salitrón admire the garden they made with BYU interns.

The agronomy component of the Institute works with the main producers of the villages as well as school children. One of the continuing projects concentrates on creating vegetable gardens both in family and school settings. The concept has grown in popularity since its initiation, particularly as children take their excitement and knowledge about the school’s garden home. Jessica Hess noted that “several times while in the villages we were approached about obtaining seeds for garden spots that children had convinced their parents to prepare or had prepared themselves.”

Teaching establishment and maintenance of tree nurseries forms a major part of the agronomy program also. The families involved in this project use the trees for fruit production, fence rows, reforestation, and agroforestry systems (see article, page 37). Cutting tree stands to create cropland has provoked numerous problems in these communities, particularly an increased rate of erosion. Replanting trees whenever possible results in both economic and environmental benefits for the producers. The soil that must support the communities’ food production gets replenished and protected; sources of firewood, building materials, and fence posts increase without disturbing existing trees; and fruit produced from certain species can be sold in the market.

During the interns’ stay they took part in a project of soil classification. Working with community residents and the Institute staff, the interns collected soil samples and other data from a representative area in each of the three communities. Using matrices relating slope, nutrient content, soil texture, soil depth, erosion damage, rockiness, and drainage characteristics, the interns and Institute workers classified the soils according to their most appropriate use. With this new data the Institute can focus on long-term goals to help the communities use their resources to the greatest benefit of the residents.

Other programs in which the interns took part include teaching proper pesticide management, testing new varieties and hybrids of corn and black bean, running fertilizer and plant spacing trials, and general crop advising. Each project centers on the community producers as the future propagators of successful agricultural methods.

Susan Eldredge, in addition to the agronomy work, continued a project of plant classification she began during the 1998 internship. She collected and pressed samples of numerous common plants. These plants were gathered as the initiation of an herbarium at CUNORI, the local satellite campus of the University of San Carlos. An herbarium is an essential element of botanical studies, providing access to representative species. The samples are also part of a compilation of medicinal plant information that will be catalogued and provided to the community residents as a preservation of their traditional medicine.

Fulfilling BYU mission

Brigham Young University’s Aims of a BYU Education states that “BYU should nourish in its students the desire to use their knowledge and skills not only to enrich their own lives but also to bless . . . the larger society” (BYU, 1999). Karen McGrew summed up her impression of the internship by saying, “The mission of the Benson Institute goes hand in hand with the mission of the University. The program is one of charity and love of our fellowmen.”

In addition to directing students toward service, the “intellectual aims of a BYU education are intended to give students understanding, perspective, motivation, and interpersonal abilities—not just information and academic skills” (BYU, 1999). Reflecting on the impact of the internship in these areas of her life, intern Amber Smith commented, “Once you’re in a setting like that you realize what you have learned and how it can help others. You don’t take your knowledge or your education for granted anymore.”

Working together, Brigham Young University and the Benson Institute educate the next generation of motivated scholars to look beyond themselves and seek answers to the world’s pressing development questions.

Works Cited

Bateman, Merrill J. “Bateman Lists ‘Pillars of BYU Education.’” Y News, 27 Aug. 1999, p. 1–2.

Benson, Ezra Taft. “Response: Announcement of the Ezra Taft Benson Agriculture and Food Institute, Brigham Young University.” Benson Institute, 23 Sept. 1975, p. 1–6

Brigham Young University. (1999). Aims of a BYU Education (Online). Available: http://www.byu. edu/about/aims (1999, 14 July).