By Catherine Craig | President, CPALI
The insects for food venture including CPALI, Entomo Farms and Insects and People of the Southwest Indian Ocean (IPSIO) are meeting in Madagascar next week to raise crickets! Brian of IPSIO received a grant from USAID to get the ball rolling and we are off and running. Brian and his team are collecting and identifying local species of crickets, and rearing them using technologies suggested by Darren of Entomo Farms. SEPALI Madagascar will test and outline ways to introduce the simple technologies to farmers in the Maroantsetra area to learn the best way to work with farmers as well as overcome any inhibitions they might have farming insects. While we have experimented, prepared and served several different insect species are farmer lunches, none of our farmers have had time to rearing them. Part of the problem is regardless of how delicious they taste, many were unable to get beyond the "yuck" factor. To solve that problem we will be pulverizing roasted crickets in to a high value protein powder. On an earlier trip, Mamy asked a local baker to add protein powder to the delicious bread that is made locally. While there is still a bit of skepticism, it is nothing that a dab of honey couldn't solve (we have experimental evidence!). In fact, honey is only needed if the person eating the bread knows insect powder has been added! Nevertheless, we will still need to over-come barriers to eating insects and even incorporating them into stews and sauces and to convince the community that growing children and adults need more than rice alone to be healthy. I hope that while I am in Madagascar I will be able to talk to others who have successfully introduced new information and practices to local communities and learn their techniques.
In addition to cricket farming Mamy and Fenozaro Justin have been planting the host plant of the funny leaf hopper mentioned in our last newsletter and featured below. Fenozaro Justin remembers eating the insect as a child and has no problem eating them now! The insects are unusually high in fat and have been used to extract cooking oil. I can’t wait to try them. Certainly eating leafhoppers is familiar to children in the Makira Area. Farming the insect’s host plant is easy AND the plants produce edible beans similar to lima beans.
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By Catherine Craig | President, CPALI
By Catherine Craig | President, CPALI
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