Bread in the Guatemalan highlands – the Community Cloud Foundation’s Conservation
By Rob and Tara Cahill, Directors of the Community Cloud Forest Conservation
http://www.cloudforestconservation.org/
Lidia and Elvira are teachers at the Community Cloud Foundation’s Conservation in the Guatemalan central highlands. They are part of the WALC program, where they learned to bake during the fall WALC session in Nov of 2014. These teachers have been honing their baking skills since, providing bread to primary and secondary school kids visiting the agroecology center in CCFC’s Kids & Birds program.
Rob Cahill, the main organizer, shares that: “There is a close connection between our gardens and our bread. One of the favorites of our bakers (and our bread eaters for that matter) is Taro Bread, a medium whole wheat bread with taro in the mix. This is a delicious connection between a traditional Maya crop and bread. Without a doubt, corn and the beloved tortilla is regarded in highest esteem in the central highlands among the Maya, but bread is a welcome change from time to time, especially for snacks. Making bread is a treasured time to both work and visit. These young women are taking bread baking into the realm of art and science.”