We Only Collect What We Need: Women’s Experiences on Collecting Cauchao ( Amomyrtus luma Molina) in Food Systems of Extreme South Forests in Chile

Carolina Fredes, Alejandra Parada, Carolina Aguirre, Loreto Rojas, Paz Robert and Margarita Bernales ()
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Carolina Fredes: Escuela de Ciencias de la Salud, Departamento de Nutrición y Dietética, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 7820436, Chile
Alejandra Parada: Escuela de Ciencias de la Salud, Departamento de Nutrición y Dietética, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 7820436, Chile
Carolina Aguirre: Escuela de Ciencias de la Salud, Departamento de Nutrición y Dietética, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 7820436, Chile
Loreto Rojas: Escuela de Ciencias de la Salud, Departamento de Nutrición y Dietética, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 7820436, Chile
Paz Robert: Departamento de Ciencia de los Alimentos y Tecnología Química, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas Farmacéuticas, Universidad de Chile, Santiago 8380000, Chile
Margarita Bernales: Escuela de Enfermería, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 7820436, Chile

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 21, 1-19

Abstract: The collection of the ancestral fruit cauchao ( Amomyrtus luma ) is part of the routines of women gatherers from the extreme south (44° South Latitude) in Chile. The traditional food knowledge of cauchao has not been documented, and there is no data on the nutritional composition. Women’s experiences collecting cauchao can help understand the relationship between traditional food, herbal medicine, and local gatherers’ communities. Thus, this research explores the traditional knowledge of food and the nutritional composition of cauchao. Mixed methods research was performed. A case study included in-depth interviews with 12 women gatherers and thematic analysis. The composition of macronutrients in cauchao was obtained by proximate chemical analyses and dietary fiber using the enzymatic-gravimetric method. Results showed that gathering for these women was more than just extracting natural resources; it was associated with family, food security, participation in different stages of the food system, and practices that could contribute towards sustainable food systems. Furthermore, cauchao fruit showed a high dietary fiber content, and women gatherers did not connect cauchao with dietary fiber. Since access to knowledge by small-scale food producers, especially women, is part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG#2.3), the approach of this research may help guide knowledge transfer among women gatherers.

Keywords: traditional food and beverages; traditional food knowledge; ethnobiology; Myrtaceae; native fruits; forest users; food security; sustainable development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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