The tree of life

July 1 was a very busy day for me in SSF land. I suppose that's because I took a loooong bus ride from Guatemala City at the ungodly hour of 4:30am all the way to the wish-I-could-say-lovely town of La Ceiba in Honduras. It was a surprisingly pleasant journey however, thanks in part to the very comfortable seats (we paid extra) and the very interesting fellow travelers.

Meet Rick in profile. He's from the southern U.S. but has set himself up in Honduras after spending a number of years doing various church-related projects in Central America. Now he's all about the moringa tree, which from all accounts is nothing short of a miracle tree.

During one of the rest stops, Rick busted out his laptop and introduced Susan and I to a little powerpoint presentation about the wonders of moringa. And there are many. It grows quickly and is resilient to drought. It's high in energy and protein and all kinds of vitamins and minerals. It helps underweight and malnourished kids gain weight. Its seeds can be used to filter water, its juice can be used to fertilize crops. You can make biofuel out of it. (I felt a little like I was listening to Bubba list his shrimp recipes for a second.)

Now, I'm a big fan of optimism, but I have to wonder, if this tree is so awesome, why don't more people know about it? I could go on a whole side commentary about the implications and unintended consequences this little tree of life could have for development, but in the meantime, I kind of want to try some moringa leaves. It's only a matter of time before Whole Foods starts selling it.