There has always been a lot of great energy at Qachuu Aloom—the staff and volunteers bring life into their community, and the curiosity and generosity of our donors and visitors rejuvenate us all the time.

But there’s some new energy at the Qachuu Aloom—electricity! Through generous support from the Presbytery of Genesee Valley and the Emily Sandall Foundation, we were able to bring electricity to our community center to power the dorms, kitchen area, and our workshop space so that we can use computers and slide shows. This is a huge improvement for our space and we are so excited!

Making amaranth flour in the new electric mill at Qachuu Aloom.

The electricity is also being used to power a new mill, which was funded by the same grant. This mill is a powerful resource because it allows Qachuu Aloom to process locally grown amaranth into flour that can be sold and used in products to promote amaranth consumption (it is super healthy!) and provide income for Qachuu Aloom and local farmers. Plus, look how much fun it is to use!

Amaranth is a highly nutritious and valuable crop, so its production supports both nutrition and economic development in the Qachuu Aloom villages.

Amaranth has many beneficial qualities (for more detailed explanation, see this article), including that it is:

-high in protein—especially important for families who do not have much meat or other protein sources in their diet
-full of essential vitamins and minerals, like calcium, potassium, and iron
-high in fiber
-native to Maya diets, making it culturally beneficially as well as healthy
-a hardy plant that can grow with relatively little water

Thanks to all of these qualities, amaranth has become vital to our work with Qachuu Aloom in Guatemala. Now that they can mill it into flour themselves, they can sell more useful and accessible products to their neighbors and to a larger national market. We have been working hard to teach women at Qachuu Aloom to make healthy snacks using amaranth, as well as less expensive crops like pigeon pea, to encourage people in the community to replace sugary and salty snacks with more nutritious options.