As Nando Jaramillo shucked corn in early November, he slowed down for a moment to look at his harvest.
鈥淥h my god,鈥� he said. 鈥淏eautiful.鈥�
The purple husks revealed the white corn kernels and pink lines of zapalote chico, an heirloom corn variety. It鈥檚 one of the first strains of domesticated corn from Oaxaca, Mexico, and one of a handful of corn varieties Jaramillo grows at three different farms in Vermont鈥檚 Upper Valley. He uses them to make arepas and empanadas for the organization he founded, .
Jaramillo started Moon and Stars about six years ago to connect regenerative farming practices and cultural traditions.
鈥淚n my mind, I鈥檝e always been thinking, 鈥楬ow can we create a food system that really aligns what we envision as a regenerative culture?鈥� he said.
He decided Vermont was the place to try that out, after spending a summer there in 2016, away from his home in Miami. He says he was struck by the accessibility of good food in Vermont, a state he believes has a strong environmental conscience.
Because Jaramillo uses heirloom corn, his arepas are earthier and slimmer than the arepas typically made with mass-produced corn flour. Jaramillo says he hopes his version can expand people鈥檚 idea of what an arepa could taste like.
鈥淕ood food doesn鈥檛 need to have an organic label,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about creating a local economy, and how we connect with the people that are growing the food.鈥�
This is the fourth video in , a video series this fall from the New England News Collaborative.
