Making Cassava Bread from Scratch in Southern Belize

Words + Photos By Andrea K. Castillo 

 Cassava, also known as yuca or manioc, is a plant that is a staple food across tropical regions in Central and South America, the Caribbean, Africa, Southeast Asia and Oceania. Its leaves and tubers are prepared in various ways: boiled, fried, mashed, baked in breads and pastries, beverages, cereals and much more.

In Belize, cassava is one of the staple crops of the Garínagu, the descendants of African and indigenous Arawak and Carib peoples who migrated from St. Vincent to Honduras, and later to Southern Belize. Deeper research of the words Garifuna (referring to individuals and language/culture) and Carib suggest its original definition to be “cassava eaters.” Cassava bread, known as ereba in Garifuna, is a food that provides great energy and can be stored for up to a year in air-tight plastic containers.

On a recent solo trip to Belize, I was introduced to Miss Naomi. Originally from Honduras, Miss Naomi is a Garifuna woman who is known in her community of Dangriga in Southern Belize to cook cassava bread from scratch in the traditional way and sell to the public from her front yard every Saturday. I was very excited to meet her and see the process, as the cassava bread industry has become commercialized over the past few decades throughout the Caribbean and abroad.

In photos, here is the traditional process of making ereba from scratch.

Miss Naomi shows a cassava tree in her yard. The tubers are what we eat. They are uprooted, washed and peeled in preparation for consumption.

This long wooden board with pebbles, called an egi, is used to grate the cassava into a wet mixture called sibiba.

Miss Naomi in front of a yellow ruguma (or wowla in Belize Kriol), a woven tube used for extracting the juice from grated cassava (sibiba).

After the juice is extracted from the sibiba, the cassava takes the shape of the wowla. The cassava is left to dry overnight. The breeze that passes through starts a slight fermentation process.

The dried cassava is then sifted through a woven sieve called a híbise. This action breaks up the compact cassava into a more flour-like texture.

Cassava crumbles are sifted into flour.

Cassava flour is poured onto a hot comal, a smooth, flat griddle generally made of cast iron, used throughout Mexico, Central and South America to prepare food.

The fire hearth, or régigi, is prepared to provide even cooking heat for the ereba.

Cassava mixture on a fire hearth is fanned with a beísawa, a brush made with palmetto leaves.

Miss Naomi flattens the cassava flour on the comal with a wooden press to ensure a smooth and leveled bread.

Once the cassava bread is cooked on one side, it is flipped to cook on the underside, similar to a tortilla or crepe.

After the ereba is fully cooked, it is scored on the comal with a sharp kitchen knife or machete, then stacked to cool.

The best way to consume cassava bread is fresh off the comal, with a light spread of butter. It can also be enjoyed with a side of local jam (guava, mango, pineapple) or refried beans.