Guatemala has the highest rate of malnutrition in the western hemisphere, and fourth highest in the world. Lack of a diverse diet as well as reliance on corn tortillas, a nutritionally incomplete staple, have contributed to this public health crisis. Because of this reality, over half of children under age five in Guatemala are expected to experience stunted growth. Five years ago, the thought of our communities being in the forefront of groundbreaking research in a national effort to curb malnutrition was only a speck of our imagination, today it is a reality.

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By: Haley Kirk

My friends from the states that I work with like to tell me that I’m “immersed”. I’m the most Guatemalan gringa that they know. It would come as no surprise then, that I love tortillas. Many people who come to visit Guatemala get bored with the taste quickly or decide to turn down the extra carbohydrates. I, on the other hand, love them in all shapes and sizes, whether they are hand formed or made with a press, whether they are made from white, yellow, or blue corn, and whether they are soft and doughy or crispy like a tostada. I do not discriminate against tortillas.

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