‘What joy! What damn joy!’: vanilla boom transforms fortunes of Colombia’s farmers
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In El Valle, the world’s second-most expensive spice is not just providing an economic lifeline but also helping to preserve rich biodiversity. 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.
![[A man smiles as he gently holds a section of vine and looks up into the tree it is wrapped around.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/77ea83710807045fe503e697699ed4c612fd0ebd/0_0_6793_4529/master/6793.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
“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.
![[A tray with a single layer of long, glossy-looking black pods]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/3613e6e01649746742c25bd6181836c987f00402/0_0_6950_4633/master/6950.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
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.
![[A picture of a man’s hands touching green vanilla pods hanging from a vine.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c791a8a53f9ed80040931b6b5a644decc7e777dd/0_0_7008_4672/master/7008.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
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.
![[A man reaches out to feel a pod inside a wooden drying cupboard.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/1cb7f3413dc0fada8f4775664df73e01985b3572/0_0_6863_4575/master/6863.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
