ABOUT MAYANUT

enabling deployment of underutilized species


MAYA NUT


Global  (Brosimum alicastrum)
Facilitation 
Unit
for Underutilized 
SpeciesWhat is Maya nut and where does it come from?
Maya nut is the seed of Brosimum alicastrum, a large tropical 
rainforest tree that belongs to the fig family. It is native to 
Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. It is also called 
Ramon nut, Breadnut, Ojoche, Ox, Ash, Ujuxte, Ojite, Ojushte, 
Ujushte, Capomo, Pisba waihka and Masica. It was once abundant 
throughout Central America but is now highly threatened and even 
extinct in parts of its range due to cutting for firewood and corn 
planting. The tree can reach up to 45 meters in height.PROPERTIES
Maya nut is a wild-harvested forest product which grows in 
naturally fertile rainforest soils and is naturally organic because no 
chemicals, fertilizers or pesticides are needed. It is extremely high 
in fiber, calcium, potassium, folate, iron, zinc, protein and vitamins 
A, B, C and E. Maya nut is nutritionally comparable to amaranth, 
quinoa and soy, and was a staple food for the pre-Columbian 
Maya and other indigenous groups in Mesoamerica.
The Equilibrium Fund is an international NGO working to rescue lost 
indigenous knowledge about the maya nut in Central America and 
Mexico to help conserve rainforest, reduce poverty and improve food 
security. For this work The Equilibrium Fund won the St Andrews Prize 
for the Environment in 2006 and the Equator Prize in 2007. 
Since 2001 The Equilibrium Fund has trained over 7000 women from 
348 villages in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador and 
Mexico. 5 women’s maya nut producer groups comprised of over 
400 member-owners now earn income and enjoy better health and 
nutrition by producing and selling maya nut. Over 400,000 new maya 
nut seedlings have been planted and hundreds of hectares of rainforest 
has been conserved as a direct result of The Equilibrium Fund’s work.MAYA NUT
> Food Preparation
The fresh seed can be boiled and ground into a dough similar to 
corn masa which can be sued for soups, tamales, tortillas, burgers, 
puree and other dishes. The dry seed can be roasted and ground 
into a flour for use in drinks and baked goods. Stewed the nut tastes 
like mashed potato, roasted it tastes like chocolate or coffee and 
can be prepared in numerous other dishes. In Guatemala, Honduras 
and Nicaragua maya nut is being produced and marketed by 
autonomous women’s producer groups. 
> Other Uses
Maya nut leaves are excellent fodder for cows and goats, 
providing a sustainable alternative to pasture in the tropics. 
Maya nut is a keystone species in neotropical lowland 
ecosystems, as it is the preferred food source for over 85% of 
neotropical birds and wildlife. Healthy maya nut forests are ideal 
for subsistence hunting and ecotourism as well as providing a 
refuge for tropical biodiversity.
GROWING
One maya nut tree can produce up to 180 kgs of food per year. 
A recent discovery is a Mexican maya nut varietal from Merida 
which produces fruit in its 4th year. This is a vast improvement over 
unimproved varieties which tend to produce in their 8th year. Maya nut 
tolerates marginal soils and drought, making it an excellent species 
for reforestation in degraded sites. Once established it requires no 
maintenance or inputs and a maya nut tree will produce food and 
provide ecosystem services for over 150 years. 


HARVESTING


Fresh maya nut seed is harvested from the forest floor. It is bright green 
and the size of a macadamia nut (2-3 cm in diameter).The economic and environmental potential of maya nut
Maya nut seed has the potential to become one of the most 
economically important nontimber forest products in the world. 
This is due to several factors including high economic value 
and consumer demand, abundance, productivity, distribution, 
ease of harvest and processing, good nutritional and culinary 
qualities, provision of marketable ecosystem services including 
carbon sequestration, and protection of soil, watersheds 
and biodiversity. If managed correctly, consumer demand for 
maya nut has the potential to slow and eventually reverse 
deforestation, loss of biodiversity, poverty, food insecurity 
and malnutrition created by conventional cropping systems 
in Central America and Mexico. Unfortunately maya nut has 
received little attention from agronomists and foresters and 
there is little information about sustainable harvest levels, 
genetics and population biology of the species. This jeopardizes 
the potential of wild-harvested maya nut to provide sustainable 
livelihoods for rural forest dwelling communities. 
Achieving social and ecological sustainability 
The impact of “The Equilibrium Fund’s” maya nut Program 
so far has been improved food security and improved family 
nutrition for rural peoples, community-based conservation 
of the species, reforestation, improvement in women’s selfesteem, status and leadership, more income for women, 
and the stimulation of rural economies by adding value to a 
formerly worthless forest product. 




MAYA NUT


The exhibits on show are just few 
of many commercial products made from the Maya nut:
Maya nut coffee
Maya nut chai
Maya nut flour
Herbal stimulant laxative with maya nut
SOME PRODUCERS / RETAILERS / DISTRIBUTORS 
> The Equilibrium Fund - www.theequilibriumfund.com
> Alimentos Nutri-Naturales - alimentosnutrinaturales@yahoo.com
> Teeccino Caffé Inc - www.teeccino.com
> Traditional Medicinals - www.TraditionalMedicinals.com
Photographs by: Cecilia Sanchez-Garduno and Erika VohmanFor further information, contact:
GFU for Underutilized Species
Via dei Tre Denari, 472/a
00057 Maccarese, Rome, Italy
Tel: +39-06-6118-292/302
e-mail: underutilized-species@cgiar.org
w e b s i t e : w w w. u n d e r u t i l i z e d - s p e c i e s . o r g
Global 
Facilitation 
Unit
for Underutilized 
Species