The verstility of totumo is variable, depending on how it's been processed - meaning it can either be tough and resistant to breakage or can be thinner and easier to bend. These properties are some of the reasons this fruit has been considered a perfect tool for so long.
When I first saw totumo, I thought it was quite ugly. The tree itself grows in crazy directions, and the way its limbs stick out reminded me of my curly-haired bedhead! However, when I saw the fruit I thought it looked like a giant avocado that would be delicious to eat -- as all the other unique fruits I've happened upon in Colombia have been just that. Needless to say, I was distraught to find out that the fruit of the totumo tree are inedible!
My friends at the time explained that it was used for cutlery, but at the moment I didn't really care much about that fact. It wasn't until I was eating lunch at a farm that I started to appreciate the artisanal beauty of the plant. I was eating my soup out of a totumo bowl and using a totumo spoon.
Totumo grows across Central America as well as the Carribean. In Colombia, totumo primarily grows in the coastal region as this plant cannot grow at high elevations.
The tree is often seen in parks, along roadsides, and especially on farms where the fruit is harvested for use at home or to feed livestock.
