Strangely enough, peanuts are abundant here in Tarija, and so I hear, around most of Bolivia. Even the poorest of the poor families who live way out in the ‘campo’ (Spanish for the boonies) either grow peanuts or can easily and cheaply attain them. Unfortunately, most folks are at a loss as to what to do with all their nuts 
. They usually toast them or use them to make a peanut soup that has actually become one of my favorite foods here in Bolivia ! But rarely are they harnessing all the nutritional power of peanuts - and in a country where good nutrition is quite low on the scale of priorities that’s more than unfortunate.
Thanks to Shelby Tracy (group B41), a fellow Tarija Volunteer, we had the chance to teach some ‘campo’ folks how to make peanut butter. 
Dona Hilda (to my right in the picture), is a professor at the vocational school at the internado where I work, was nice enough to introduce Tracy and I to our ‘students’ for the day.
Shelby is originally from Nacogdoches Texas , (the oldest town in Texas !!). Prior to coming to PC Bolivia she graduated from the University of Texas with a major in journalism. 
Shelby is an agricultural volunteer, and one of the many things she does in her site is help her women’s group make and sell peanut butter. 
As our resident peanut butter making expert was kind enough to teach me and these other ladies the key to making peanut butter is to lightly toast the peanuts, as they can burn easily. 
Every few minutes – make sure you move the peanuts around in the oven or they’ll burn !! As the peanuts are toasting be sure to properly assemble your hand grinder (see picture)
because it’s the grinder that makes the peanut butter smooth rather than crunchy ! Once the peanuts are
toasted you need serious backup to peal the skins off all the nuts. Thankfully the yield of peanut butter from a few kilos of peanuts is quite high - so it’s totally worth the effort. 
You can listen to some chacarera music or truly ‘Bolivian-fy your experience and catch up on the town gossip.
Once you’ve peeled your nuts bring them over to the grinder with a separate bowl in which you have a roughly half and half mixture of sugar and salt. Place a handful
of peanuts in the grinder and a healthy pinch of the salt/sugar mixture on top and then grind away !! It really is that easy – who knew ??!
PB & J sandwiches are no longer just an American favorite !! 
Although this may all seem like a lot of work for what most of us could buy at the local grocery store – this peanut butter making lesson really packs a powerful punch for Bolivians. PB is easy and cheap to make, they can make a substantial profit on each jar sold, and they suddenly have a healthy and filling snack or breakfast for their families!!
PCVs (PC Volunteers) spend quite a lot of time teaching workshops that will hopefully better the lives of the families we are here to serve. Why not try to make sure something tastes good at the end ? !
Besos,
SC
Now playing: Faith Hill - Take Me as I Am
