Belizean Women Learning How to Cultivate Vanilla

In the heart of Belize, a group of determined women is embarking on a fragrant journey to master the art of growing and cultivating vanilla. This initiative not only promises to boost local agriculture but also empowers these women with new skills and economic opportunities. We explore how this vanilla venture is transforming lives and bringing a sweet aroma of change to the community.

 

Valentino Shal, C.E.O., Ministry of Rural Transformation

“One of the very important features of this project is that it’s about vanilla, it’s non-traditional.  I know you do the usuals, the same things that we give women to do, traditional things, traditional activities, traditional training.  The difference here is that cultivating vanilla is not something we normally do. Vanilla is a very valuable spice. It’s a valuable product and if you learn to cultivate this and you will be provided with all the support that you need to learn how to do it, you know, you can really earn an income and generate revenue for yourself and your family from this project.  So I would really like you to embrace the change, the difference and the opportunity that this project presents.”

 

Lincoln Blake, Director, Investment Policy & Compliance Unit

“It’s something that definitely has potential and, as the minister said, if you start doing the math and you start growing, it’s not easy but when you start growing it and you become good at it, I mean, this is something that women in their backyard, in their garden, could definitely grow it.  It’s not something that will take a lot of time compared to if you are growing carrots or onions.  I mean it’s something that you would be able to manage.  So we definitely, when we sat down with the chairlady of the National Women’s Commission because she said, “You know what, we need to empower women economically.  We need to find something different for them.  And we were discussing several projects and this came up. So we said let’s find some funding to do this project and to get more women involved to empower them. And, of course, with our partners in Taiwan, when we pitched it to them and we showed them a pilot that we had in Corozal, basically we convinced them to fund for the west and the south.”