Partnership with MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

July 22, 2008

Since early 2007, ACA has partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) “D-Lab” to send engineering students interested in sustainable development issues to work in Peru.

Jesse Austin-Brenemen, the first D-Lab volunteer to work with ACCA, helped to develop a simple and inexpensive machine to remove the shell of Sacha Inchi, or Incan Peanut, which can be grown as a sustainable forest product.

Sacha Inchi is an Amazonian plant that is considered the richest vegetable source of Omega-3 and Omega-6 essential fatty acids that protect the heart and lower cholesterol. Jesse trained members of the Agroecological Sacha Inchi Producers Association (APASI–Manu) to use and replicate the machine using local materials.