The name of the project, “Picaflor,” — which means “Hummingbird” in Spanish — comes from a famous legend of the Guarani, who are a native tribe in South America. The Guarani say that one day there was a fire in the rainforest. All the animals ran away in fear. Suddenly, while the jaguar was running away, he saw the Picaflor (hummingbird) going towards the fire. “What are you doing, hummingbird?” The jaguar asked. “I am taking water from the lake with my beak,” the hummingbird said, “to go and put out the fire.”

The jaguar smiled and said, “You must be crazy! You cannot put out the fire with your small beak! You are too small, and its too little water.”

“Well,” said the Picaflor, “even though because I am small I can only take a little bit of water, I will at least do my part.”

The Picaflor Project is a team of nutritionists, doctors, fitness, chefs, and education experts throughout Latin America. Although small, Picaflor seeks to do its part to fight malnutrition and under-nutrition and provide poor local farmers in Latin America with the resources needed to sell their fruits and vegetables to restaurants, resorts, groceries, and hotels in the tourism markets of the continent and the Caribbean. The Picaflor Project serves as a bridge connecting the agriculture and tourism sectors, buying from and selling on behalf of farmers, and providing both sea and land transportation to help their fruits and vegetables reach their destinations.

The Picaflor Project was founded in 2012 in Bolivia by Cacdemode and Seam the World’s Chief Operating Officer, Gene Osagie, as well as fitness expert and trainer Christopher Williamson. There, supported by Dr. Burgermeister and Dr. Contento of Columbia University’s Institute of Nutrition, they designed and implemented nutrition education programs for orphanages and shelters. Since then, their work has spread to other parts of Bolivia, Colombia, Trinidad & Tobago, and Honduras. Along with supporting marginalized farmers, Picaflor continues its tradition of promoting healthy eating by using the local farmer’s fruits and vegetables sold at better prices to leverage advocacy for healthier meals and recipes in restaurants throughout region. The meals and recipes that have been introduced to date were designed by chefs of the Picaflor team.