How to make chewing gum

Making chewing gum deep in the jungle of Guatemala. If you bought gum before the 1950s it was almost certainly made this way. Synthetic gum started to phase out chicle in the 50s and by the 80s the industry was a thing of the past. This man was a “chiclero” from 1965-1979. He hadn’t harvested any chicle or climbed since 1985 and when we asked him if he could still make it not only did he show us how but he also put on my gear and went up the tree himself! That was a lot of work and a really amazing experience!