A Vanilla That Tastes of Justice
Some stories begin by chance and become something greater. Our story with Ugandan vanilla is one of those.
Fifteen years ago, at a small demonstration farm in the Mukono area of Uganda, about thirty poor farmers began growing vanilla. Seventy kilograms in the best years. Very little, almost nothing. But it was the beginning of something.
Vanilla is the second most expensive spice in the world. In 2023, a kilogram sold for an average of 250 dollars. Yet those who cultivate it live in poverty.
The reason? Farmers sell without knowing what their product is worth. The only laboratories for quality analysis belong to the buying companies. A broker arrives, tells you "it's worth this," and you have no way to verify. Often they push you to harvest early to lower the quality and pay you less.
Vani-Coop: Changing the Rules
With the Vani-Coop project, coordinated by Insieme si può and funded by AICS, three concrete actions were taken:
1. The independent laboratory
The first laboratory for vanilla analysis was established at Makerere University in Kampala. The first in Uganda that doesn't belong to buying companies. Now cooperatives can know – before selling – what their vanilla is really worth.
2. Training
1,785 farmers (70% women) are receiving training in good agricultural practices, post-harvest techniques, quality control, and labor rights. Together with the International Labor Organization, work is being done against child labor in the supply chain.
3. Research
Studies on intercropping practices have been launched with Makerere University to allow farmers to diversify. If vanilla prices crash, they need alternatives.
From Land to Cup
In the coming weeks, PETER'S TeaHouse Pompadour black vanilla tea, made with vanilla from these cooperatives, will be launched.
This isn't marketing. It's the concrete result of 15 years of work. Behind every cup is a network of people who chose to do things differently: Insieme si può coordinating in the field, Makerere University providing scientific expertise, cooperatives growing, and Costa Family Foundation believing that regenerative tourism means using our resources to create value that goes beyond a single stay.
What Matters
Vani-Coop will last 36 months and reach over 22,000 beneficiaries in the districts of Mukono, Kasese, Rukungiri, and Jinja.
But numbers tell only part of the story. The real story is this: when we talk about 1,250 women who will benefit from the training connected to the laboratory, we're talking about 1,250 family units that can change trajectory. Women who now know what their work is worth. Farmers who can say "no" to an unfair price.
True cooperation isn't charity. It's building skills. It's transferring bargaining power through knowledge. It's setting up systems that work even when we're no longer there.
Those 70 kilograms of vanilla from fifteen years ago have become organized cooperatives, trained farmers, a laboratory serving thousands of people. They've become a tea you'll be able to taste, knowing that behind it lies a story of justice.
