As he wanders around a corner of his land, inspecting his crops, Luilly Murillo González stops and leans down to examine a twisting green vine. He spots four budding flowers, early indications that he will soon harvest his prized product: vanilla.
“What joy! What damn joy!” he says, shaking his fists in the air, a smile spreading across his face. “Growing vanilla requires a lot of love. You have to be enamoured of the crop, passionate about it.”
Murillo González has 300 vanilla plants and is clearing more land to expand his plantation, which began with just 50 plants in 2019.
His small vanilla farm is located in El Valle, Colombia, hidden amid the dense greenery of the Chocó province, which covers much of the country’s lush Pacific coast.
Chocó is Colombia’s most impoverished region and has long suffered from state neglect, dwindling infrastructure, limited economic opportunities and the presence of armed groups and illicit trade. In November, the region was ravaged by severe floods as well as an armed siege by the National Liberation Army (ELN), one of Colombia’s most prominent armed groups.
Traditionally, artisanal fishing and intermittent tourism have been the mainstay for El Valle residents, providing a modest living. An estimated two-thirds of the region’s population live on just $3.50 (£2.87) a day.
Yet, vanilla – the world’s second-most expensive spice after saffron – has emerged as a lifeline for communities long gripped by hardship. Farmers say one kilogram of dried vanilla pods can sell for up to 2,500,000 Colombian pesos (about £450) – more than 100 times the standard price for a kilogram of tuna in El Valle.
The global vanilla market was estimated to be worth about $292bn in 2023 and is predicted to grow to around $441bn by 2032.
Chocó’s fertile terrain, abundant rains, and humid, warm weather provide prime conditions for vanilla, an orchid, to flourish. Its presence in El Valle is not new; it has grown wild in the area for many years, but until recently local farmers were unaware of its commercial and financial value.
“Here, people used it to get rid of the damp smell from clothes. Our grandparents used to take the [vanilla] pods and put them among their clothes to give them a pleasant scent or to make perfumes,” Murillo González says, adding that the Indigenous Emberá across the region also used the dried vanilla pods to make necklaces and jewellery. “Once we were told it had economic value, we began looking into it.”
Vanilla cultivation requires patience and attention. The plant begins producing crops three years after its initial planting. On cultivation, the pods must be dried carefully for three to four months before the final product is ready for market.
Local farmers ventured into the unfamiliar realm of vanilla cultivation with support from Swissaid Colombia. In 2015, after discovering the orchid in El Valle, the Swiss NGO partnered with two local community councils to implement programmes to strengthen the industry.
“Vanilla is like a goldmine that strengthens our family household economy,” says Francisco Murillo Ibargüen, head of the Río Valle community council, which represents a collective of vanilla farmers. “It is a healthy, natural and good product. It has contributed to the region, and we have seen the improvement and growth of our communities and farmers.”
As a result, Murillo Ibargüen says, there are now about 200 vanilla plantations in the El Valle region.
This labour-intensive but highly profitable crop offers Chocó inhabitants a legal economic option. Bahía Solano, where El Valle is located, is not a centre for illegal coca cultivation in Colombia but it is linked to drug trafficking operations led by local armed groups.
“Bahía Solano is known for pioneering cultivating vanilla in Colombia, but it is also a coca transit zone, which pulls many young people into that industry, putting them in danger,” says Astrid Álvarez Aristizábal, the coordinator of Swissaid’s programme in the region. “Vanilla would be an excellent alternative to illicit crops.”
Vanilla also offers a more sustainable alternative to traditional, often environmentally harmful practices, such as cattle grazing, illegal mining and coca plantation, which drive deforestation.
The growing vine wraps itself around trees, which provides an incentive to preserve them. That contributes to a more climate-resilient farming system that can absorb carbon, enhance soil fertility, and conserve water. El Valle’s vanilla is also organically pollinated by bees, unlike the hand-pollination method currently used in other countries.
In Chocó, one of Colombia’s most biodiverse regions, preserving the forest is crucial to mitigating the impacts of the climate crisis. By conserving forests, vanilla farming also helps sequester carbon, reducing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
“We are protecting the environment and taking biodiversity into account,” says Murillo González. “It’s really beautiful because there is a symbiosis between the vanilla plants and other trees, which has also allowed us to plant fruit trees and recover our native fruits. In a small area of land, we can grow different things.”
He says vanilla farmers in El Valle shun pesticides and industrial fertilisers, instead nourishing the soil by composting discarded coconut shells, rice, and fruit.
Chocó’s vanilla farms aim to meet growing demand for sustainable and ethically sourced ingredients. Some farmers report a growing interest from restaurants and the culinary industry, their primary target market.
Murillo González supplies vanilla to the X.O. restaurant in Medellín, a high-end establishment that featured among Latin America’s Top 50 restaurants for three years running.
Head chef Mateo Ríos takes pride in using local produce and regularly incorporates vanilla in a series of dishes – from fish dishes to others with a twist on traditional empanadas and sweet desserts.
“Now we are much more conscious as chefs of what we consume. Consuming local products gives them much more value and gives the people who cultivate them the opportunity to strengthen their economy,” says Ríos. “It is an honour to showcase the local produce, our highly valuable ingredients, to support local communities and do it at fair prices.”
For the vanilla farmers of Chocó, the fragrant crop is more than just a spice – it is a lifeline. They hope the growing industry will transform their region into a model for sustainable development, interweaving prosperity and preservation.
“The day someone pours this vanilla into what they’re eating, they will know it came from the hands of the vanilla farmers of El Valle,” Murillo González says. “That’s what we want, for people to take part of our essence.”
