Chaya

A Letter from Inge and Larry Sthreshley, serving in Congo

Summer 2024

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Dear friends,

The other month I was driving through the town of Tshikapa to go to a training and I noticed a chaya plant growing near the side of the road. I mentioned to the driver that the plant we just drove by was really nutritious and that I was happy to see it being grown in Tshikapa. His response was “I know. I followed your training when the nutrition team was talking about chaya and distributing cuttings in the Kasai Province several years ago. I planted some at my house and now we eat chaya often. It grows great during the dry season, and you can harvest leaves from chaya long after the manioc plants stop producing leaves. And, if you give it just a little bit of water now and then, you can eat from the plant all dry season long. It has helped a lot. I asked my pastor if I could share information about chaya with members of my congregation and I gave out a lot of cuttings. It’s a great plant. It has helped a lot of people.” That short conversation lifted my spirits!

The Methodist Presbyterian Hostel (MPH) guest house in Kinshasa grows and serves chaya. Papa Nzila, who cooks for guests and conferences, is always happy to share his chaya recipes, and cuttings, and explain how to cultivate the plant. Chaya cuttings from MPH have now gone far and wide throughout DRC.

Most of the crops grown in DRC are rain fed, except for a few fields and vegetable gardens along river valleys that are irrigated by hand. During the rainy season, women will cultivate fields of manioc, corn, peanuts, cowpeas, and beans on the savanna grasslands. Many households now also cultivate small, raised bed gardens around their homes in the villages, but once the dry season sets in these garden beds are usually abandoned. Keeping them watered requires hauling a lot of water uphill in plastic jerry cans from springs and rivers located in valleys. There is no easy “get out the garden hose and sprinkler” to water the garden during the dry season.

The combination of a long dry season and no means of irrigating fields and household gardens leads to food insecurity for many rural families in DRC. It is the time of year when hunger increases as food reserves are low and prices increase. Even the leaves of the manioc plants in the fields start to whither and dry up. A popular dish made from cassava leaves is part of a staple meal throughout much of the country, but in the dry season, the cost of a bundle of cassava leaves increases as the dry season sets in and availability decreases.

Prolonging the growing season or period where food is available in home gardens during the dry season is one of the strategies of our multisectoral nutrition program. One way this can be done is by promoting drought tolerant plants. Chaya, or Cnidoscolus chayamansa is a dark green leafy shrub we have introduced to prolong the availability of food in the dry season.

A chaya plant growing at Methodist Presbyterian Hostel (MPH).

Chaya leaves are eaten and prepared like cassava leaves, so adoption has not been difficult. Similar to cassava leaves, the dark green leaves of chaya contain hydrocyanic glycosides which are toxic raw but are destroyed when cooked. The leaves must be cooked for a minimum of 15 minutes in an open pot to deactivate the toxin. But unlike cassava leaves, the chaya leaves are more tender and less fibrous, so it doesn’t have to cook as long. It takes less wood to cook, which is another plus.

Not only is chaya drought tolerant, but the leaves are also packed full of nutrients! A 100 gram portion of fresh chaya leaves (about half a cup) has about 6.2 – 7.4 grams of protein, the equivalent of 1 egg. And the amino acids that make up that protein are well balanced. For an adult it meets around 50% of daily iron and omega 3 fatty acid requirements (particularly important for pregnant women), about 30% of the daily calcium and vitamin A needs, and around three times the vitamin C requirements. Popeye would love it!

A gentle rain is falling as I write, and I recognize that it could be our last good rain before the dry season sets in. The beginning of the dry season is a welcome relief from the high humidity and temperatures at the end of the rains. But as the dry season stretches on into the 4th and 5th month without rain, you can taste the dust in the air as the dry season breezes pick up. The grass is all brown and all the plants and trees are dusty and stressed from lack of water. A longing sets in for the rains to return.

As we head into the dry season, I’m thankful for the opportunities we have had to promote this remarkable plant through community health workers and PRODEK (Programme de Developpement du Kasai). Chaya will help sustain many families and young children in DRC during the coming months. Thank you for your prayers and for supporting the work of the Presbyterian Mission Agency. Please continue giving to the sending and support of mission co-workers as we collectively seek to put into practice being a “Matthew 25” church.

Blessings,

Inge

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ ………. ⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”