For some years now, the hearts of palm, or 'palmito del Putumayo', have sought to counteract one of the greatest evils in the contemporary history of Colombia: the illegal economy of drug trafficking, linked to the proliferation of coca crops.
The nation has developed different strategies to end not only the trade in illegal substances, but also the violence that reaches the countryside through illicit drug trafficking networks. Among them, it has been decided to grow palm hearts to replace illicit coca crops in rural areas of the country. It should be remembered that Colombia continues to be the country with the highest cocaine production worldwide, according to data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
For those who do not know it, the vegetable palm is the heart that is extracted from different types of palm trees. These are cut when they are barely two or three meters high and are opened to extract this food. In Colombia it is obtained from the Bactris gasipaes palm tree, better known as 'chontaduro'. It is a plant native to the Amazon, very abundant in the jungle regions of the country.
The department of Putumayo is part of the Colombian Amazon. With a mostly rural population, between the 70s and 90s, this area was subject to violence and struggles for territorial control by different armed groups such as guerrillas and paramilitaries, who sought to dominate cocaine production and its distribution routes. In the midst of these clashes for power, peasant communities were involved in episodes of extreme cruelty such as massacres, dismemberments and public murders if they refused to grow coca.
Palmetto cultivation arrived in Putumayo in the late 90s, with the introduction of 'Plan Colombia'. It was a strategy of the Colombian government in cooperation with the United States that sought to "increase licit and sustainable economic opportunities, so that farmers who have fallen into planting illicit crops voluntarily abandon this production," according to data from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) sought to boost local trade by taking advantage of the biodiversity of the region with products such as pepper, vanilla, exotic fruits, and of course, palm heart.
Palmetto crops increased significantly in a few years, with more than a thousand hectares planted in 2006, according to the Presidency of the Republic of Colombia. But marketing it was not so easy. Fresh palm hearts are highly perishable and begin to oxidize from the moment they are cut. The best way to preserve it is in brine prepared with water, citric acid, tartaric acid and salt, which ensures a useful life of approximately seven years, so it is necessary to process it industrially to sell it. In this mostly rural region, there were no companies that could carry out this entire process.
Given the lack of industry, Edgar Montenegro, a businessman of peasant origin who was forced to grow coca in the 70s, decided to take advantage of the circumstances and found Corpocampo, a company that is currently a leader in the production and marketing of palm hearts in Colombia. Montenegro promotes the substitution of illicit crops through palm heart production: "It is an opportunity for the people who are in this region as an alternative to coca," he said in an interview with Caracol Radio. This strategy earned him the Oslo Business For Peace Award in 2018, since "Corpocampo has provided work to more than 240 households headed by women, impacting a total of more than 1,300 families," according to data from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Colombia is currently experiencing a gastronomic rediscovery in which the biodiversity of its different ecosystems is being taken advantage of, something that was not possible in previous years due to the armed conflict that the country was experiencing. But "from the peace process we have been able to return to the territories. There is a generation of chefs who want not only to taste the country, but to show the world what they taste," says gastronomic journalist Julia Londoño. For this reason, ingredients local dishes like palmito, now shine in Colombian restaurants featured on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list, such as El Chato, LEO, and Celele.
Colombian chefs are understanding the importance of this type of food. Beyond the pleasure that eating generates, or the aesthetics that can be seen in the dishes, the idea is also to show the impact generated through cooking. And more than showing, communicating. "Every time we put a palm heart on a plate we are helping to ensure that there is no other coca plant," proudly explains Colombian chef Harry Sasson, one of the greatest defenders of this ingredient. His signature dish is the simplest presentation of this product: fresh palm hearts grilled with salt, pepper and olive oil.
Other chefs are also committed to telling the history of the country through food. This is the case of Alejandro Gutiérrez, who is in charge of the Salvo Patria and Libre restaurants. Their menu includes a 'ramen' style palm heart soup and noodles made from coca, in order to fight against the stigmatization of this plant: "Coca is a sacred plant that has been part of the indigenous communities of South America and Mesoamerica for centuries," says Gutiérrez. The coca leaf is not the same as cocaine. The problem arises when it is inserted into the illegal economy of drug trafficking to produce drugs.
The dish designed by Gutiérrez and the Salvo Patria team seeks to show that hearts of palm and coca should not be opposed. It shows an agenda in which palm hearts are an active agent in the fight against drug trafficking and violence, while making a place for themselves in the country's haute cuisines.
The path of the palm heart is a political, social and gastronomic story. It is an ingredient that is setting a trend in Colombia to think about the origin of food and the impact that food and gastronomy can have on improving the living conditions of vulnerable populations. The palmetto shows that, with some creativity, peace can be promoted on a plate of food.
