Vanilla gives K500,000 to farmers

NATIVE Vanilla, a company that has its vanilla buying hub based in Wewak, East Sepik, is injecting close to K500,000 every month directly to the pockets of rural farmers, an official says.
Director of the Native Vanilla Dan Edmiston said he started the company after realising the struggles the vanilla farmers in East Sepik face in accessing markets and getting real value for their vanilla.
Edmiston, an American who grew up in Karawari in East Sepik back in the early 1980s as a child when his parents worked as missionary with the SIL (Summer Institute of Linguistic).
“When I returned to PNG in 2014 to see my Sepik families at Karawari, I was touched by the struggles they face in accessing markets for their vanilla,” he said.
“It was very sad and that’s where this company Native Vanilla was born.
“It’s a company that is passionate about helping people through providing better market access for local farmers to earn value for their vanilla.”
He said every month, they are buying 250-500kg of vanilla at Wewak.