Finca Meeting, Mozote and Camouflage Artists

When things seem to flounder a bit in life, call a meeting. Sit down at the table with your spouse, kids, or work companions. Set an agenda, and you won’t believe the things you can accomplish...

Here we are, all the Finca personnel, sitting down with a glass of mozote, a very rural Costa Rican drink, discussing more efficient ways to capture and use rain water, conserve energy, implement integrated pest management during the rainy season, plan for the dry season, review maintenance routines and suggest ways to reduce costs. We all learned from each other. Marcia provided an excellent review on mosquito control that nicely tied right into recycling and overall tidiness. And we drank mozote! It was delicious!

Recently, Luis Poveda reminded us of the importance of mozote!  I regarded the plant (Triumfetta spp., F. Tiliaceae) as a medicinal – used to treat mostly gastrointestinal complaints. However, Poveda recently reminded us that mozote – a mucilaginous plant* – is also highly beneficial for intestinal health. It’s like an emollient for your insides! The locals make a drink from it and enjoy it regularly to maintain intestinal health! So, the next day, Armando cut a couple of mozote stems, brought them back to the kitchen, and taught us girls how to make the mozote drink. The plant grows very well in the meadows at El Tigre. However, once the meadow (charral, or abandoned pastureland) regenerates past the scrubland stage and grows into a forest, the meadow plants, including mozote, get shaded out and die. So, to prevent this from happening, we deliberately maintain some of the meadows, where the mozote plant thrives, along with other edible plants, like chan.

Here’s Marcia pointing out the mozote bark. The procedure for making the mozote drink begins by scrubbing the stem and then cutting and removing the outer bark. Inside, you can feel a mucilaginous layer, which you then peel off, cut into chunks, and place in a jug covered with fresh water.

At that point, you put it in the fridge and leave it soaking for 24 hours. Next day, you can easily notice how the water has thickened. And that is the mozote drink! But, if you want it to taste good (it has no real taste by itself) you can toss in a few herbal nutrients or fruit juices. For example, this time we made a separate herbal infusion (Stevia, to sweeten the water; a variety of mints; and pineapple sage) and, just before serving, mixed the cooled herbal infusion with the mozote liquid. It was delicious! We all drank two glasses of it (except for GRAK, of course) and walked away from our gathering feeling just great.

Regarding mozote, Luis Poveda wrote: "Muy estimada Victoria, recuerde que el mozote se puede mezclar con limón ácido y grape fruit, sabe delicioso también con naranjilla, carambola, casy otros frutos, es excelente para problemas de colitis, gastritis, estrenimiento y refrescante."

Gracias Maestro!

Take a look at this amazing camouflage artist. This insect looks just like a leaf! I took a picture of him here being held by Yaneth, and then another of him hiding in the hibiscus foliage. Can you see it?

*Mucilages are hydrocolloidal polysaccharides. I found the following description in ‘Herbal Medicine’, by Rudolf Fritz Weiss, MD: “Mucilaginous plants owe their name to the fact that they contain slimy substances. The slime or mucilage envelops and protects badly inflamed mucous membranes, including those of the stomach. At the same time they have a bland effect, binding gastric acid and irritant decomposition products.”