Reclaiming Vanilla: From Colonial 'Cash Crop' to Cultivating Conservation

by Ranum Mansawan and Dominique Tan, Mitra BUMMA Vanilla Program Coordinator and Co-CEO

Native to Mexico, Vanilla was brought to Papua, Indonesia by the Dutch colonists in the early 1900s. Today, dozens of families in the Tabo region of Namblong still cultivate Vanilla, although this “Green Gold” has been far from providing community wealth.

When we approached the Namblong tribe to begin development of forest products, Vanilla rose to the top. The Iram (head) of the tribe, a Vanilla farmer himself, had shared several examples of disappointing dealings in business transactions. “We want a fair and stable price for our beans,” he stated.

Driven by their passion to improve the current conditions for their Vanilla farmers along with their extensive experience with this plant, Namblong BUMMA partnered with Mitra BUMMA to develop their Vanilla business. Little did we know that this would energize the tribe to reclaim this cash crop and explore their colonial legacy.

**Yohana Tarkuo, BUMMA Namblong CEO**

"My experience at BUMMA Namblong has been incredibly educational. I had no idea how to start a vanilla business, but I’ve been support by professionals every step of the way."
*Read more of her testimony* *here*

Our team engaged with the farmers, learned about their aspirations and challenges, and assessed their current practices. We then determined the future state we aimed to build:

Recognizing that reaching the future state would take time, we started small. Mitra BUMMA provided funds for Namblong BUMMA’s Vanilla team to purchase their first inventory of green beans from individual farmers, becoming their first alternative buyer. Our transparent pricing included a minimum floor price based on bean quality.

**Benjamin Bai,**
**BUMMA Namblong Vanilla Supervisor**

"Every step we've taken in BUMMA Namblong has been impressive, but the moment we made our first payment for 2 kilograms of raw vanilla touched me deeply."

*Read more of his testimony* *here*

However, the short shelf life of the green beans remained a challenge. We partnered with Teman Belajar Jogja, a successful Vanilla cooperative, to build a new drying facility using locally sourced materials and to train Namblong's farmers on harvesting, grading, drying, and storage.

The BUMMA team then developed Standard Operating Procedures to ensure product consistency and quality, like this video!

**Ribka Waibro, BUMMA Namblong Vanilla**

"I'm most impressed by the Dry Vanilla House, as it's the first built and operated by Namblong People."

*Read more of her testimony* *here*

We’re grateful for the support of the Jayapura Regency government office, especially Dra. Hana S.Hikoyabi, S.Pd., M.KP, Regional Secretary (Sekda) Jayapura Regency (pictured below), who attended the facility’s groundbreaking ceremony and who stated that “the presence of BUMMA has [the potential to] revive the community's economy.”