I was reading a blog today and in it was a picture of a large sink hole that had opened in the middle of the road in Guatemala.

The effect was devistating and caused the death of a father and two teenagers. Just another of those tragic stories.

It was actually reading about Guatemala that brought back childhood memories for me. Isn’t it amazing how something really simple as reading a blog can trigger off a memory.

When I was a child I remember having to write an essay on the Chicle Gatherers of Guatemala.

In my childs mind I remember thinking how great it would be to spend my days roaming the forest gathering chicle. As an adult I realise the harsh reality of what those peoples lives are really like. Children have such romantic notions about lifes realities, and rightly so.

So I researched the subject and learnt how the ‘chicleros’ would go out into the forest and tap the chicle trees so that the sap would gather into little pots that were tied to the tree. The chicle is exported to the United States and used in chewing gum.

So I did a little research to see if this is still how chewing gum is made and sure enough here is the low down:

Okay,  so Chicle is name of the gum obtained from the latex of the sapodilla tree (Manilkara zapota). This is an American evergreen which is widely cultivated in tropical regions for its fruit, which is plum-sized with translucent yellow-brown flesh. Apparently, large-scale cultivation of the tree for latex is impractical because it can be tapped only infrequently and varies widely in yield.

Chicle is collected during the rainy season from wild trees in the rain forests. Natives, called chicleros, cut gashes in the tree trunk to collect the sap which is boiled until it reaches a specific thickness and is then molded into blocks which are exported, mainly to the United States, for use in making chewing gum.

Unsystematic and excessive tapping of the sapodilla is leading to its depletion and has necessitated the increased use of chicle substitutes from other latex-producing plants.

To manufacture chewing gum, the blocks of chicle are ground, melted, and cleared in a whirling vat. Then the flavorings are added -fruits, licorice, mints, corn syrup sugar or artificial sweeteners. The gum is then rolled through sheeting machinery and chopped into sticks or into candy-coated pellets.

In today’s manufacture insoluble plastics may be mixed with or substituted for the chicle.

The United States is the major producer, exporter, and consumer, of chewing gum.

Chewing the resins from trees is believed to have been around since prehistoric times. The Native Americans chewed Spruce resin to quench their thirst. It is believed that chicle was imported into the United States through Mexico. William and Semple patented chicle gum in 1869.

So when your are chewing madly away on your next strip of chewing gum, remember the hard life of the chicleros. I know I will. I am especially fond of Airwaves, just love how it clears the sinuses.

You can read more about Guatemala: A Journey Through the Land of the Maya

Did you know that chewing gum is banned in Singapore? They banned it in 1992 because of a littering problem. It was only in 2004 that they lifted it slightly to allow for the use of gum for ‘therapeutic’ reasons.

If you are travelling to Singapore ensure you don’t have any gum with you as it is strictly prohibited to import it.