The Macadamia Tree
Native to Australia, macadamia (Macadamia tetraphylla) is ideal for fighting the deforestation that is ravaging the Guatemalan Highlands. It thrives in Guatemala and produces a prized, edible nut that is valuable and highly-nutritious. Our Macadamia-Conservation Exchange (MCE) program is helping establish a new economic system that will provide lasting income and environmental benefits. Macadamia trees can live 150 years and sequester massive amounts of carbon.
How the MCE works
With communities and land owners, we select a plot of lower-elevation (already cleared) land for our new plantation. Then, and here's the clincher, we select a plot of agricultural land high in the cloud forest zone as an ecological restoration site. In return for macadamia seedlings and materials for the plantation, the land owner permanently abandons the high-elevation field so that it may grow again into a valuable cloud forest, providing habitat to wildlife, and playing its critical roles in hydrology and carbon sequestration.
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| Google Earth image of our MCE project at La Gloria. 3.1 hectares (7.6 acres). | Preparing the seedlings for planting. |
About Macadamia
- Origin
- There are four species of macadamia and all of them are native to Australia. There are also several cultivars.
- The nut
- Macadamia nuts are high (22%) in palmitoleic acid, which is prized for skin care cosmetics. The roasted nut is delicious and high in protein, fats, and carbohydrates. It is far more nutritious than corn. Whereas coffee and maize farming yield an endless trajectory of poverty, macadamia benefits the farmer substantially.
- The tree
- Macadamias are tropical and they require year-round warmth and moisture. They can thrive in the deep soil of the foothills around Cerro Amay.
From concept to reality
Macadamia-Conservation Exchanges for Sustainable Development and Cloud Forest Restoration.
Latest MCE News
- MCE at La Gloria!
- In August, 2014, we planted 3.1 hectares of land with 650 macadamia seedlings at the village of La Gloria. In exchange, they have permanently abandoned a high-elevation agricultural plot to let it regenerate over time into new cloud forest. We are grateful for all of the donated labor of the villagers, and for the macadamia seedlings that were donated by Valhalla Macadamia Experiment Station.
- New Collaborator: Valhalla Macadamia Experiment Station
- We are working closely with Lawrence, Ricardo, and Emilia Gottschamer, the wonderful owners of Valhalla Macadamia Experiment Station. Valhalla provided all of the macadamia seedlings for our La Gloria project, and we thank them for their generosity. We are also collaborating on a proposal to bring additional MCE projects to the people of Cerro El Amay.
- Valhalla is located near beautiful Antigua Guatemala in San Miguel Dueňas.