Mingueo Panelas

One of the main items of the Colombian basic basket of goods is panela, so is not strange that Colombia is considered one of the main consumers of the product. These tridimensional rectangles or circles are produced on mills known as trapiches, grounding sugar canes until extracting its juice. The sugarcane juice is boiled on high temperatures until it converts into dense molasses, that is subsequently poured over a mold which shapes it.

In Mingueo, belonging to the municipality of Dibulla, there is a trapiche administrated by a group of low-income peasants who have partnered with a Kogui community known as Domingeka. The site where the trapiche is installed raises 120 meters above sea level, as the sugarcane grows on the lower mountainside of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta; other crops like bananas, cocoa and yam also grows on that zone.

With panela is possible to make a very popular drink called agua de panela (panela water), which can be drunk hot or cold. It’s easy to make: introduce pieces of panela into a recipient filled with water, mixing until it dilutes completely. When served hot and mixed with lemon juice drops, it is widely believed to work against colds.