‘Vanilla’ The Product

The RESULT Project a  OXFAM New Zealand partnership and MFAT funding program within Tonga National Youth Congress have entered a new level this year which is the working  on the vanilla commodities.  The RESULT project have focus in the last two years on developing the virgin coconut oil business.  Starting with working with the grower, harvesting and selling their coconut to the YES Unit and to the market the export and the local.  There has been some success and there is still area to improve on production and quality but overall it has been proven that is starting to generate incomes to benefit communities, employ young people and the capacity of production to meet the demand of the export market as well as the local market.

The vanilla commodity follow a slightly different approach from the Virgin Coconut Oil.  The ICS has been working with the growers certifying their farm plot. And putting the grower into  different cluster that of the coconut cluster and now the vanilla cluster.  With the vanilla cluster the work started with the list of the certified vanilla grower given to the buyer and using the organic certified label and getting the buyer to buy for the organic international market prize.  Starting from last years the organic vanilla grower cluster was very happy of the organic vanilla prize. 

This year TNYC and RESULT project a playing two different roles TNYC organic certification unit still work with the grower  and their vanilla in planting, growing and harvesting. TNYC RESULT business unit  start to work with individual grower by buying the vanilla , do the curing process and negotiating a market for this grower.

This individual work enable the grower to set their own price on their products  if they sell it green as well as setting up with TNYC a bonus system for when the buyer buys the dried vanilla bean.

TNYC is hoping to expand more with working with the vanilla grower especially the need for a lot of awareness for young women on the benefit from their backyard vanilla if they  start planting and working with ICS  on a more small cluster grower group and fast track their vanilla production so that the benefit  will  be  sooner than later.