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Madagascar Vanilla Beans
 Fair Trade Vanilla from Mananara Nord, MADAGASCAR
Mananara Nord is a remote region located within Madagascar’s forest corridor. The surrounding communities do not have electricity or running water, and nearly all households are involved in subsistence farming activities.
Here, traditional Malagasy village life continues to exist in harmony with the surrounding forest. Community is strong and highly valued, and many growers are also active in larger social, church, and educational networks.
The region includes a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, a marine protected area, and is home to many endemic species of lemurs, palm trees, birds and reptiles. On the border between rainforest and the Indian Ocean, the Mananara region boasts a truly spectacular natural environment.
The unique environment of Madagascar’s northeast coast also makes it ideally suited for vanilla, clove, and coffee cultivation, and Imorona families have been growing and processing these crops for generations. Despite its remote location, the region produces a large quantity of cured vanilla and dried cloves each year.
The Making of the Vanilla Bean
Vanilla is a vine crop, and one of the only orchids with commercially useful fruits. As with raising most orchids, cultivating vanilla is a labor-intensive pursuit, requiring an extensive degree of specialized knowledge and care. Families in Imorona have been cultivating vanilla for over 80 years, using techniques and knowledge passed down through generations. Vanilla completes one crop cycle each year:
Flowering and Hand-Pollinating: After approximately three years, well cared for vines will produce yellow-white flowers between the months of November and January. As no natural pollinators of vanilla exist in Madagascar, farmers must pollinate each flower by hand. Flowers that were successfully pollinated will develop a long, green vanilla bean. The beans are ripe for harvest between April and June.
Blanching: After harvest, the green beans are ready to be processed. The beans are placed into woven baskets and plunged briefly into vats of hot water, to stop the growth process. The cooked beans are then sweated, by being wrapped tightly in wool blankets and stored for one to two days.
Curing: The blanched beans are then put out to cure in the sun a few hours each day, over a period of several months. The exact time of curing depends on a variety of daily conditions, including the amount of sun available and the humidity. Each day, after curing, beans are frequently worked by hand to improve their shape and texture. The beans are then re-wrapped and stored overnight indoors. This process occurs from the end of May until September.
Finished Gourmet Vanilla: Once the beans are nearly cured, they have their distinctive black color, fragrant smell, and soft, leathery texture. The subtle curing process is then completed indoors, where vanilla beans are stored on well-ventilated, indoor drying racks for several more weeks.
Source: From the Field (www.ftftrading.com)
Bulk vanilla bean orders available in 1/4 lb, 1/2 lb, and 1 lb packages. Please send an email to globalape@shaw.ca to enquire about bulk pricing.
NEW for Spring of 2009 - Certified Organic Whole Vanilla!
Global A.P.E. Inc is pleased to announce that the the grower associations From the Field partner with have obtained Organic Certification from the EcoCert office in Madagascar. FTF worked with seven growers associations in the Mananara Nord region to organize the paperwork and inspections necessary for organic certification. We also sponsored two community workshops conducted by the Malagasy NGO SAF-FJKM, which focused on organic farming regulations as well as best practices for curing, drying, and storing vanilla beans.
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