Friday, May 6, 2011

Toloma…

When I telephone to ask for a government officer, I am often told that, he or she is “out in the field”.   Today I joined their ranks and spent my day, quite literally, out in the field.  I travelled to the far southeastern corner of the island in search of a crop known locally as toloma*.   

Basically toloma, is a Dominican strain of arrowroot.  It has huge potential as a health food for infants and the elderly.  Over the coming months, my task is to devise a more efficient way of processing the crop and marketing the end product.  Without giving too much away at this stage, I believe that with innovative marketing, Dominica is on to a winner. 

Thank you Jacqueline and Mary for giving me a crash course in the current methods of production.  Here’s the crop, first straight from the field and then, finally processed and ready for despatch.



*My Creole dictionary gives the spelling as toloman.

3 comments:

  1. Ooooooh! What health benefits?

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  2. They put this in boiling water , then stir. In less than 30 sec the water turns thick and there you have it toloma.

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  3. The toloma flour in Tortola is brownish. The white starch that is strained in the process is used for making hot cereal. The grated remains are dried and sifted to form a brownish flour. My mom likes to add it to regular flour when making dumplings for soup.

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