CHAYA
Mayan Power for Modern Times
Bishop Martin High School
¾ Mile San Lorenzo Road
Orange Walk
Belize
501- 322-3469
Team members: Deizy Torres, Maria Pech, Emily Manzur, Herson Mejia, Liyan Moralez,
Judiel Gonzalez
Teacher Supervisor: Mr. Wilson Mendoza
1. Title:
Chaya – Mayan power for Modern times
2. Problem statement and Significance (0.75 of a page)
As a community we are not optimizing on benefits of super micronutrient provider plant locally known as
Chaya. Thirty years ago, it was customary that every home had a Chaya tree in their yard which would provide
leaves for their breakfast -Chaya omelette and Chaya juice or perhaps Chaya tamales. However with the vast
importation of foreign foods especially canned foods, urbanization, globalization, modernization and
development, the inclusion of Chaya is slowly becoming non-existent in the average Maya- Mestizo dish. In
addition, Chaya is used for medicinal treatment against diabetes, anaemia and malnutrition. The green leafy
plant is low cost and practically grows on its own. The plant has a natural ability to tolerate some drought,
flooding and is resistant to pests. Below is a list of all the reasons why to optimize this green leafy vegetable:
(i) High levels of nutrition in leaves (ii) Cyanide content in leaves makes the plant pest resistant (iii) High
productivity and (iv) Little to no maintenance required.
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The inclusion of Chaya in student’s diet is as low to once every six month for 65% of the student body.
One out of ten students has a Chaya tree in their yard whilst six out of ten students have a Chaya tree in
their yard.
The Northern Regional Hospital serves Chaya once a week in the form of Chaya and eggs to the patients
and should be incorporating this more in the meals for patients.
Chaya is not a part of school feeding programs. Chaya will provide children with the necessary daily
requirements of micronutrients such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin A, vitamin B1 and ascorbic
acid.
Chaya is the plant to give importance to since the plant is considered resilient and endure harsh
conditions especially if we are heading to unpredictable weather patterns caused by global warming.
3. OBJECTIVE: (0.5 page)
The Chaya pilot program called “Chaya – Mayan power for modern times” is to be held at Bishop
Martin High School. This program seeks to:
 Create a database of the frequency of Chaya trees in the Orange Walk District.
 Provide an opportunity for students to see one of Chaya’s many health benefits. Chaya will be used as
a treatment to raise the haemoglobin count of teachers at Bishop Martin High School.
 Set up an online blog on the Bishop Martin High School website – (bmhs.edu.bz) where students from
Bishop Martin High School can participate in a forum where students can share facts found and share
family recipes of Chaya.
 Provide instructional videos of how to prepare the meals and drinks. These videos will be made by
students of Bishop Martin High School.
 Provide an instructional video that shows how to plant your own Chaya tree.
 Find the costing of preparing products such as Chaya – Mayan power for modern times
 Produce samples for Chaya – Mayan power for modern times (Chaya flakes, Chaya frozen treats,
(I)
(II)
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The Chaya National program, ‘Chaya – Mayan Power for Modern ” is to be held on a national
program. The program is to
Create a database for the frequency of Chaya trees in Belize through the Agricultural Department
through surveying and frequency mapping.
Create a policy whereby Chaya is to at least be served three times a week in a patient’s diet from the
hospitals.
Through the Ministry of agriculture, they are to distribute cuttings of Chaya to the towns and villages.
(iii) Creation of Chaya – Mayan power for modern time’s product line for the school.
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Dry Chaya leaves using a dehydrator oven. To create
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Produce pulverized Chaya to be used as main ingredient for the following products:
I.
Frozen treats – paletas, ideal, yogurt, chamoy
II.
Chaya capsule
III.
Chaya flakes
IV.
Chaya tea
V. Energy drink
4. Approach or proposed solution ( 7 pages)
We intend to solve this problem by building awareness at our school through the following exercises:
(i) In depth analysis of Chaya biology. Gather the facts of the micronutrient composition. Compare Chaya
with other green nutritional herbs and with nutritional.
Description: Chaya (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius)1, sometimes called the spinach tree, is a fast-growing perennial
shrub native to Mexico that produces lots of attractive, large, dark green leaves. It can grow well on a wide range of
soils in both hot, rainy climates and areas with occasional drought. It grows easily and quickly, especially at higher
temperatures, and new leaves grow quickly after harvesting. The amount of leaves per square foot of garden space is
impressive (see photos). Leaves have lower moisture content than most other green leafy plants like spinach or
lettuce.
Botanical description: Chaya plant offers extraordinary attributes as a food crop: potential year-round yields;
highly nutritious; tasty; productive; minimal pest or disease susceptibility; tolerant of diverse growing
conditions; easily propagated; perennial; handsome foliage; fragrant flowers that attract butterflies, moths and
bees; useful forage for domestic animals.
Cultivated Varieties
According to Ross-Ibarra and Molina-Cruz, the four main cultivated varieties of chaya are „Estrella,‟ „Picuda,‟
„Chayamansa‟ and „Redonda.‟ Within a single variety, local people differentiate between „chaya pica‟ (with
spines or stinging hairs) and „chaya mansa‟ (spineless). The authors commented, “Surprisingly, when this
difference is recognized, chaya pica is unanimously thought to be better tasting than its unarmed counterpart.”
The stinging hairs on chaya pica are very irritating during harvest, but disappear when leaves are cooked. Wear
gloves or put your hand in a sock to harvest the leaves of a stinging plant. ECHO distributes only cuttings from
a non-stinging plant that we obtained from Belize in the late 1980s, or from its one
Nutritional Information:
(ii) Conduct a clinical test as a biochemical indicator done by the Northern Regional
Hospital lab technicians on the teachers of Bishop Martin High. The results will be
tracked by the student body so they can observe the effect on Chaya on the teachers
haemoglobin. The results will be placed on the bulletin board for all the students to see.
(biochemical indicator)
(iii)
Conduct survey to find out the awareness and exposure to Chaya and
the dietary diversity.
1. Do you know what Chaya is? Yes No
2. Have you eaten Chaya? Yes No
3. If yes, identify in which form you have consume
 Chaya with eggs
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Chaya in tamales
Chaya in soup
Chaya juice
Other ……………………………………………
4. If you answered No to question # 1 and #2, would you consider eating Chaya if you were told Chaya t has twice
the protein of spinach and ten times as much Vitamin C as
an orange, on a per weight basis!
5. Identify what your meal looks the closest to your daily meal?
(a) 25% meat 25% vegetables 50% starch ………………
(b) 50% meat 25% vegetable 25% starch ……………
(c) 40% meat 50% starch 10% vegetables……………..
(d) 30% meat 30% vegetable 40% starch …………….
6. Identify how often you consume the following green leafy vegetables in your diet.
2x per
week
Once a
Week
Once a
month
Once every
6 month
Once a
year
Never
I don’t like it
I
Lettuce
Cabbage
Spinach
Calalloo
Chaya
Moringa
(iv)
Conduct a survey where the entire student body is to survey three
blocks of near their homes and the frequency of Chaya trees in their area. This exercise
will include the villages as well.
(v) Hold an in-house Chaya drive to collect Chaya leaves to dehydrate in the dehydrator
over for the quantification of Chaya powder which will be used to make the Chaya
product line.
(vi)
Each form level will be assigned to partake in the making of the videos
which will be uploaded in the blog. The videos will show how to prepare the traditional
and modern foods with the use of Chaya. Interviews will be conducted by students. They
will speak to older folks, parents and relatives to find out more about Chaya. These
findings will be documented and taken into account as part of the program. You can visit
the Bishop Martin
5. The competition:
There is no such non-governmental organization or body operating in Belize that is
providing education outreach to create awareness of a potential crop of the future.
There is however a blog under the website belize.com that speaks about Chaya as a cure
for Diabetes too. Furthermore, our neighbouring country Guatemala has two Nongovernmental organizations that are aggressively promoting Chaya in their country as the
plant to combat malnutrition. One such organizations is called Semilla Nueva
Guatemala – which help communities gain economic independence and rejuvenate their
land through hands-on education and collaborative sustainable agriculture projects and
Chaya has been taken to the Asian Continent also by an organic farmer who proposes to
fight malnutrition in Indonesia and help pregnant mother to have a good nutrition. This
program is called –From Two Sticks to a Million trees.
How is our proposed solution unique? Unlike our competition, our approach is proactive
and reactive. We plan to fight malnutrition before it starts by educating our young people
into eating Chaya with everything to ensure that the necessary micronutrients are being
consumed especially by our young people. If faced with uncontrolled rain, drought or
pest infestation, Chaya plant will be the last to die because of its characteristics. If faced
in a recession, Chaya is an inexpensive source of food. Furthermore with the Chaya
products, the Government of Belize should endorse the Chaya products for the
Government of Belize by allowing the products into their hospitals and feeding programs
menu. A healthy population will lower the cost for health. Controlling what the Belizean
people eat will create a healthier nation. The Ministry of health can follow our model to
get the people actively involved and making it a positive and healthy trend to eat Chaya.
As in the program for our school, they too conduct students using any of the four
indicators of malnutrition and from the results, they can move into the
.
6. RESOURCES NEEDED
#
1
2
ITEMS NEEDED
Chaya leaves
Dehydrating machine
3
4
5
Grinder
Farm land
Agronomist
6
Harvesting tools (gloves,
knives, collecting pots)
7
Empty pill capsules (200)
8
Chaya products
RESOURCE
Students/ teachers/ parents
Ministry of Agriculture – lending the use of the machine
Belize Sugar Industry – lending dehydration services
Mr. Palacio (Officer in charge- Orange Walk District)
Parents and teachers
Bishop Martin High School agricultural field
Mr. Jorge Cawich – Agronomist and teacher of the
school
Gloves will be purchased (US$8)
Knives and pots will be available at school from the
Agricultural department
Purchased at alternative medication pharmacy (US$0.05
each capsule - US$10)
Popsicle and Chaya chamoy packaging materials – cups,
‘paleta’ sticks
Chaya juice – cups with cover, straws
Chaya tamales –parent donations
Chaya soup –parents will prepare
7. TIMETABLE
DATE
October 31st 2014
November 3rd- 15th
November 17th – 21st
November 1st – 21st
November 1st – 21st
TASKS
-
Submission of project proposal
Part A
Clinical Investigation
- Organize student to prepare
drink
- Construction of Chaya booth
- Prepare schedule for the
consumption of Chaya drink
- Chart the blood test results
- Document results in table and
graph
- Document the recipe used and
why?
Graph – (Frequency of Chaya in
Orange Walk
- Create a Chaya availability
around town and villages
Part B
Videos/Blog
- Interview with Senior Citizens
on the topic of Chaya
- Creating video on preparing
chaya
- Assign students to comment on
the blog
- Some suggestions of food to
prepare are as follows:
a. Chaya and eggs
b. Chaya juice
c. Chaya chamoy
d. Popsicles
e. Chaya tamales
f. Chaya soup
Part C
Chaya –Mayan power for modern
times – Product Line
 Planting of Chaya by students
 Obtain leaves for dehydration
 A Chaya drive will be
PERFORMED BY
- Mr. Wilson Mendoza
& Mrs. Shakira
Gonzalez
-
Mr. Eddie Hsu
Mr. Torres
Mr. Felipe Tzul
-
Mr. Pook
Mrs. Chi
Mr. Eudaldo
Mrs. Kira
Mrs. Arana
-
Mr. Campos
Mr. Tzul
Mr. Cawich
Mr. Ervin
November 28th
December 4th - Day of
Competition
Venue: Belize City
conducted to collect leaves
 Document the weight of leaves
before and after dehydration
Product line
a. popsicles
b. Chaya pill
c. Chaya juice
d. Tea
e. Energy drink
f. Chaya flakes
School Chaya Expo Booth
 Backboard
 Flyers
 Brochures
 Videos
 Power point
 Product line display
 Launch of the mascot
Part D- Booth preparation
 Models & props –
 Prezi (Presentation) –
 Brochure
 Brochure –Decorations &
backboard –
-
Mr. Mendoza
Deizy Torres
Kevin Trejo
Liyan Moralez
Maria Pech
Judiel Gonzalez
- Mr. Campos , Mrs. Chi,
Mr. Cawich
- Mr. Ervin Flores & Mr.
Wilson Mendoza
- Mr. W. Mendoza &
students
- Mrs. Kira & Mrs. Tepaz
with Nica, Monica, Cindy
and Mireille
8.INCORPORATION OF STEM FIELDS
Implementing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) helped us to have a
better scope of the success of this project. As we moved into integrating the STEM syllabus to
the performance of the project it helped us to remain focus and directed towards our goal. We
became aware of many new ideas, concerns and challenges that may be encountered in the
different areas of STEM. This is how we made use of STEM geared towards developing a more
awaken and conscious society who will make use of the riches grown in our very own yards:
SCIENCE
1. Geology – study of the soil composition where Chaya plant can best be planted
2. Botany – study of plant biology to analyse development and special features of the Chaya
plant
3. Topography, landscape mapping and Chaya frequency and distribution in the community
Use of ArchView/ArchGIS for the distribution of Chaya in the Orange Walk District.
4. Chemistry component to make focus and identify the chemical integration in Chaya that
are beneficial for health
TECHNOLOGY
1. Internet – creating a web page in the school’s web site where blogs will be shared and
uploaded.
2. Prezi - presentation was prepared using Prezi software
3. Typography - use of application software and graphic design were implemented for print
and digital media used for community outreach;
ENGINEERING
1. Mechanics, for machine used to dehydrate Chaya leaves and grinding to create powder
2. Systems engineering for production of Chaya products
MATHEMATICS
1. Statistics were used to design, conduct, analyze and present data collected from the
surveys
2. Financial mathematics were used to estimate cost of project start-up and implementation
INTERDISCIPLINARY
1. Students will practice and enhance their skills in interviewing people and analyzing the
most appropriate questions to ask and interpret data
2. Make practice of properly speaking English Language as this is a challenge in our school
3. Students were also exposed to going around their community and doing environmental
data collection, thereby enhancing their skills in Social Studies
4. Through their interviews students will be further exposed to ancestral history and learn
about traditional cultural dishes passed through family traits
9. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND COMMUNITY IMPACT
For our project the entire Bishop Martin High School will be involved. All students of Bishop
Martin High were involved in the program, Chaya – Mayan power for modern times. This was
done by the language department. The tasks outline below involved the students, parents and
the senior citizen
 First year students were responsible to add facts, comments and recipes to blog created
to create awareness of Chaya among the young people.
 Second year students were responsible to create videos that show how to prepare the
juices and meals which include Chaya.
 Third year students were responsible to do a video interview of the senior citizens and
have them talk about how Chaya was a part of their meal while growing up.
 Fourth year students were responsible to do educational videos which talks about Chaya
and validates why the students should be eating Chaya.
The Mathematics department also acquired the assistance of the all the students by gathering
data of the Chaya trees in their neighborhood. The results were tallied statistical information
and interpretation of clinical test and surveys. The Information Department will assist with
media output and community outreach. The Science Department will spear-head the scientific
analysis of the project with the students. The student body will be invited to participate in
surveys and teachers to partake in the clinical test.
Letters will also be sent to Belize Sugar Industry (B.S.I.) to assist the group by helping us with
the process of dehydration of the Chaya leaves. The assistance will also be solicited from SIRDI
to help the project by creating a map of Orange Walk with target areas where Chaya plants can
be found accessible. This will involve the community in a whole where they will render their
knowledge on the medicinal plant.
10. REFERENCES:
J. P. Braselton (2008 – 2014). Plant Biology. Retrieved from http://www.ohio.edu/people/
braselto/readings/plantbiol.html on October 28, 2014.
Topography (27 October 2014). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topography on
October 28th, 2014.
Cure Diabetes II with natural Belize Plant Chaya (31st October 2014) Retrieved from
http://www.belize.com/cure-diabetes-natural-belize-plant-chaya
Cnidoscolus aconitifolius –wikepedia.org
Chaya the miracle plant . Mexiconnect.com
Echo plant information sheet. http://c.ymcdn.com