Latest news with #vanilla
The Independent
4 days ago
- The Independent
How the climate crisis and aid cuts could devastate global supplies of vanilla
The region known as Sava in Madagascar – roughly the same size as Wales – is responsible for around 80 per cent of the world's vanilla crop. While vanilla was first cultivated by the Maya in the forests of Mexico, it is in this region, in the northeast of Madagascar, that it found a home for modern times, after French colonists brought over the vanilla orchid in the 1880s. Chemical synthesis of the single vanillin chemical may have driven the 'vanilla' to become the world's most popular fragrance, found in everything from makeup to bug repellants, and now a term synonymous with blandness and mediocrity. But connoisseurs maintain that no laboratory product can match the subtle, creamy-rich flavour of the natural aroma, which contains nearly 200 chemical molecules. Madgascar's climate and soil proved ideal for vanilla, giving pods a higher concentration of natural vanillin than those grown in other markets. A large pool of smallholder farmers is also readily available to grow this labour-intensive plant, which is essentially a delicate vine that grows between the trees of the rainforest. Individual pods must all be picked by hand, before being blanched in hot water, massaged, and left to cure in the sun over a three-month period. Take a two-hour internal flight northeast from Antaniravo, Madagascar's bustling capital city, and you will find yourself in the lush green rainforests of Sava. Unlike the semi-arid southern part of the island or the naked mountains of the centre, Sava – which takes its name from the towns of Sambava, Andapa, Vohémar and Antalaha across the region – is Madagascar as seen on TV: A world-beating biological hotspot holding 70 per cent of the country's primary forest, and home to thousands of plants and animals. 'Arriving in villages in Sava, you drive up an unpaved road to these houses made of wood and straw, and you wonder where exactly the vanilla is,' explains Ernest Randriarimalala, a Malagasy advisor working with the NGO WaterAid who recently visited the region. 'It's really hidden away: there's a little bit in the forest here, a little bit there, and it can take many hours to walk between the patches.' With farmers waking up in the small hours to work 12-hour shifts, vanilla farming has never been easy. But the challenges faced by vanilla farmers are becoming ever more profound with the advent of climate change: a crisis that experts warn represents a potentially existential threat to Madagascar vanilla. The UN has labelled it the fourth-most climate vulnerable country in the world, and farmers in Sava are already warning of the threat to vanilla from changing rain patterns and the ever growing risk of tropical cyclones. According to Dasy Ibrahim, a Malagasay project manager at the NGO Care, high temperatures combined with increasingly volatile rain patterns are making vanilla vulnerable to diseases, particularly the fungal-borne disease fusarium wilt. At the same time, the vanilla flowering period has shifted in recent years, running from September to January, when it used to begin in November. 'This flowering phenomenon is attributable to stress caused by high temperatures and persistent, strong trade winds,' Ibrahim explains. A combination of this earlier flowering and delays in the rainy season means that a large number of pods are ripening earlier. But only those pods that have matured for a full nine months after pollination are judged to meet the required standard. That means that a large chunk of the crop becomes void, says Ibrahim. Edlyne Fenozara, a vanilla farmer in the village of Tsaratanana, has seen these impacts first-hand. 'Before we had regular rain and our vanilla plants grew properly. Now, it is getting warmer with less rain,' she says. 'Because of the lack of rain, we always have some vanilla dying as the rain comes later than it used to.' Ferozara has also experienced the devastation that tropical cyclones can cause to both vanilla plants and the villages in which farmers and their families live. 'The wind can rip off all the vanilla plants from the ground and throw them 20 meters away,' says Fenozara. 'Trees and falling branches are also breaking vanilla plants and the overly wet soil causes root rot.' Between 2000 and 2023, 47 tropical storms and cyclones hit Madagascar, with Sava one of the regions worst hit. Some 740,000 people were left homeless over that period - and in just the last few months, Cyclone Dikeledi and Tropical Storm Jude have displaced 30,000 more. 'Every year from January to March is the cyclone season and I personally pray to God so no cyclones with strong winds come across our area and destroy my plantation,' says Dricia, another vanilla farmer, who works in a village called Andrahanjo. Gael Lescornec, executive director at industry advocacy group the Sustainable Vanilla Institute, says that another big problem related to climate shocks is the volatile nature of vanilla prices when the shocks hit. 'Volatility makes it hard to give confidence to the market and you can invest in opportunities around vanilla and vanilla farmers,' she says. After Cyclone Enawo, a category 4 storm, displaced 500,000 people as it made landfall on the island in 2017, the price of vanilla bean pods surged to more than $400,000 per tonne. Vanilla became so valuable that farmers at the time reported widespread theft and gang violence. More recently, high production volumes coupled with lower-than-expected global demand have sent prices plummeting, with low prices creating economic difficulties for a region that is so heavily dependent on one crop. 'I really wish we could get a better price,' says Dricia. 'You can get a slightly better price if you sell your vanilla three or five months later than the others but for many of us, that is impossible as we are running out of everything and we can't afford to wait'. The impacts of climate change are heightened by the pervasive levels of poverty that exists in the Sava region. An isolated island in the India Ocean, Madagascar is neither culturally nor geographically close to its neighbours in East Africa, making it hard to forge close trading relationships. Madagascar's GDP per capita stands at just $506, and around 70 per cent of the population live on less than $1.90 per day. Houses that are typically built from materials like mud and bamboo stand little chance of withstanding major cyclones, while Sava's road system largely becomes impassable during heavy rains. Much of the population in Madagascar has long been reliant on overseas aid – though the remoteness of some towns and villages as well as generally weak governance in the country makes the provision of aid a challenge, even before recent aid cuts. According to Paul Melly, a researcher on Madagascar at the think tank Chatham House, there is a pattern of the political elite in the country being 'largely detached from rural concerns'. He adds that the country's authorities have often 'struggled to develop a clear long-term poverty reduction and development strategy', which makes it hard for donors to invest as they are unable to 'plug in' to an existing strategy. Many of the vanilla wholesalers in the global north that partner with vanilla farmers have taken matters into their own hands. German fragrances giant Symrise, for example, has been investing in environmental and social protection programmes in partnership with more than 7,000 farmers in the region for the last two decades, according to the company's Bernhard Kott. 'To improve standards and prevent poverty, we have worked with organisations including German international development finance company GIZ, and charity Save the Children,' he says. 'Madagascar is a poor country and suffering from aid cuts. Companies using vanilla have to take responsibility and invest in local programs and improve human aspects, and invest in agricultural practices to protect natural resources.' Tanja Stumpff, from GIZ, confirmed that the German government was working with private companies 'to maintain vanilla cultivation' and help 'improve living conditions'. WaterAid, meanwhile, is partnering with Captain Morgan – a rum brand that belongs to spirits giant Diageo and added 'real Madagascar vanilla' to its recipe in 2023 – in a three-year programme to deliver clean water and sanitation to small-scale vanilla farmers in Sava. According to WaterAid statistics, 43 per cent of SAVA's population does not have access to drinking water infrastructure, and only 10 per cent of people have access to safe and hygienic toilets. Residents of the three villages where WaterAid is active are beginning to beginning to build new latrines and engage in other improved hygiene practices, the NGO reports. But there is a broader sense from speaking to Malagasay people with connections to the region that the challenge of fighting poverty in Sava is not being met. 'We are helping a few villages. But the task of providing universal access to clean water in the area is huge,' says WaterAid's Ernest Randriarimalala. 'Not having access to clean water means that farmers are working in extreme heat and humidity for 12 hours a day, before they have to come home in the afternoon and have to spend several hours fetching water. 'But no matter how tiring it is for them, there is no other choice,' he adds. 'If there are any problems with the vanilla crop, then it becomes even harder.' Sava's poverty reduction challenge has became even more challenging in the face of aid cuts from government aid agencies, and in particular in the aftermath of USAID programme cuts announced earlier this year by Donald Trump. The US has historically been the single biggest country donor to the country's health programme - with USAID giving to Malagasy healthcare worth $787m over the past five years - while cuts announced in 2025 were worth an estimated $62m, or the equivalent of 54 per cent of the USAID country programme. In Sava, projects from which USAID has withdrawn include The Harena Project, a wide-reaching programme that promotes local initiatives to improve natural resource management and support community livelihoods, according to Care's Dasy Ibrahim. USAID has also withdrawn from The Mizana Project, a programme working with the mayors of 20 Sava municipalities to improve natural resource governance and better deal with local corruption. To add fuel to the fire, President Trump has threatened trade tariffs of 47 per cent on Madagscar, in a move that could devastate one of the world's poorest nations. Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the 'myriad of shocks' faced by Madagascar - including aid cuts, trade tariffs, and weather-related events - threatened growth in the country. Sava is certainly not the poorest region of Madagascar - the South of the island is in the grips of a devastating drought and food crisis - but even if vanilla helps bring in a stream of income, services including healthcare, education, and infrastructure maintainance are still highly dependent on external funding, according to the Sustainable Vanilla Initiative's Gael Lescornec. 'The south is a humanitarian issue, the north is a chronic poverty issue,' she explains. Consumers in the Global North have come to expect not only natural vanilla flavouring in food products, but also an ethical product that does not depend on the exploitation of people further down the supply chain. Evidence from the ground in shows that the vanilla supply is threatened on both these counts. As Lescornec puts it, with communities facing growing climate and developmental challenges, the ongoing failure to support resilience, 'threatens the long-term supply of sustainably-produced vanilla, as well as the very supply of vanilla.'
Daily Mail
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
THE CANNY COOK: Strawberry mousse
We are midway through Wimbledon, and while the tennis undoubtedly takes centre stage, I hope it also serves as a timely reminder to enjoy that most iconic of July matches: strawberries and cream. It is a near-unbeatable pairing and one that has been embellished in many classic summer desserts – pavlova, cheesecake, tarts and fools. That is not to say that strawberries shouldn't mingle with other ingredients. As a member of the rose family, their flavour can be enhanced by the subtlest whisper of rose water (it would certainly work in the mousse recipe here). Meanwhile vanilla, citrus, elderflower, black pepper and mint are perhaps more familiar complements. It may feel a bit retro now, but I also have a soft spot for the old trick of macerating strawberries in a little balsamic vinegar and icing sugar. The fruit ends up bathing in a tangy, sweet syrup that is just perfect for spooning over vanilla ice cream. To get the best from strawberries, store them in the fridge but bring to room temperature before eating (like tomatoes, their flavour is muted when too cold). If they are still not as vivacious as hoped, cut them and toss with a little sugar, a pinch of salt and a few drops of lemon juice. Each will help coax out that berry aroma. METHOD Set aside 4 small strawberries from the punnet. Hull the remaining ones and put into a blender along with the icing sugar and a pinch of salt (add a few drops of lemon juice, too, if you have it available). Whiz until smooth. In a large mixing bowl use a hand whisk to whip the double cream until it forms soft peaks. Whisk in the yogurt, then almost all of the strawberry purée. Once you have a smooth mixture, quickly but gently fold in the remaining purée to create a marbled effect. Pour or spoon the mousse into four small glasses or ramekins (old Gü pots are the perfect size). Leave to chill in the fridge for a couple of hours (or up to 12 hours). When ready to serve, halve the reserved strawberries and use to garnish. *This cost assumes you already have some basic store-cupboard ingredients. Prices taken from Sainsbury's and correct at time of going to press.
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
The future of vanilla ice cream is at stake because of climate change
The quintessential ice cream flavour is under threat, and many other dessert staples along with it, according to climate change researchers at the University of Costa Rica and Belgium's KU Leuven university. Increasing climate extremes are changing the habitats of wild vanilla species — primarily found in the tropical regions of Central America — and their mainly animal pollinators, the researchers say. This, in turn, is putting global production of vanilla at risk. In some regions, the plants may find more favourable conditions, but the insects that pollinate them may no longer find suitable habitats, according to the study published in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science in July. These changes could lead to a reduced overlap between the habitats of pollinators and plants, resulting in less pollination. "Conserving the natural populations of wild vanilla species, and the huge genetic diversity they hold, is crucial to ensure the future of vanilla, a key tropical crop for the global food industry," says KU Leuven's Professor Bart Muys, a senior author of the study. The researchers used modelling to analyse the distribution areas of 11 neotropical vanilla species and seven observed bee species under two climate scenarios up to 2050: one moderate scenario with climate protection measures, and another with more conflicts and less global climate protection. While some species could expand their potential habitats due to global warming, others face a decline of more than half. For all bee genera, the models predict a reduction in suitable habitats, with particularly severe consequences under the less climate-protective scenario. Vanilla inodora, for example, grows only in cloud forests and low-lying regions with heavy rainfall, while other species thrive only in hot regions with long dry periods and could therefore benefit. A decoupling of plants from their pollinators could threaten the survival of wild vanilla species, lead author Charlotte Watteyn warns. A particularly problematic factor is that the species are often dependent on only a few or even individual pollinators, leaving little scope for alternative relationships. For species reliant on a single bee genus, the overlap of habitats could shrink by as much as 60 to 90%. Wild vanilla plants are also important for agriculture. Commercially used vanilla (Vanilla planifolia) has low genetic diversity, making it particularly vulnerable to diseases, drought and heat — factors that already make it a victim of global warming. For vanilla ice cream, pudding and other desserts, global warming could have a similar impact as it already does on many other foods. Poor harvests of coffee, chocolate and olive oil, for example, have repeatedly caused shortages and higher prices. The authors noted a limitation of their study: comprehensive information on pollination mechanisms was not available for all the species examined. The team called for increased international collaboration and further research, aiming to enhance the resilience of vanilla cultivation and thus secure the livelihoods of many small-scale farmers in tropical regions.
CNA
28-06-2025
- Business
- CNA
How these vanilla farmers in Singapore took their plants from HDB corridors to luxury hotels
At first glance, the small garden beside Ascent at Science Park may seem modest, but beyond its understated facade lies one of Singapore's most unexpected luxuries: Homegrown vanilla; rare and quietly remarkable crops cultivated with precision and care by Mireia Vanilla Singapore. Helmed by founders Charles Santoso, 46, and his wife Juwita Maha Ranni Setiawan, 42, the couple have been running the business since 2019. It is the only company in Singapore that manages the entire vanilla journey end-to-end – from growing and harvesting raw green vanilla pods, to curing and processing them into vanilla beans, and supplying directly to chefs, retailers, and consumers. Today, they operate several vanilla farms across Singapore, including plots at Gardens by the Bay and within the grounds of luxury hotels such as The Fullerton Hotel, Four Seasons, and Conrad – where chefs harvest the beans fresh for their farm-to-table menus. Apart from hotels, Mireia also supplies organic vanilla to restaurants such as Ce La Vi and Atout to be used in pastries, desserts, drinks, and cocktails. They also sell a myriad of organic vanilla products, ranging from the vanilla beans themselves, to vanilla matcha and vanilla-infused coffee and tea. What started as a S$100 (US$79) company and an experiment with 10 vanilla vines at their HDB corridor in Tampines has now grown into a company worth several million dollars, with over 3,500 plants. Santoso and Setiawan tell CNA Luxury about their six year journey with Mireia. HOW MIREIA STARTED 'It all started because of my wife,' Santoso said. 'She spent over a decade in Europe studying at the Glion Institute of Higher Education in Switzerland, one of the world's leading hospitality schools, and later managing a hotel.' There, immersed in Europe's rich culinary culture and high standards of luxury hospitality, Setiawan was introduced to Grade A vanilla beans through her coursework and interactions with top chefs and restaurateurs. 'She fell in love with this beautiful ingredient and its story,' he said. 'That spark stayed with her long after she returned home." Originally from Indonesia, the couple migrated to Singapore in 2015. 'But when we first came here, we couldn't find really good vanilla,' Setiawan said. 'We noticed a lot of Singaporeans will go to the supermarket, buy vanilla products with a lot of chemicals, and give it to their kids.' The couple, who share two sons aged six and 10, said that while their children were avid fans of vanilla ice cream, they often worried about the potential health effects of consuming too much artificial food. 'We love natural ingredients,' Santoso added. 'So when my wife came back to Singapore, she had the idea of growing our own vanilla plants.' 'We were initially thinking about bringing awareness about organic vanilla to Singapore; that we can grow our own, which is great for health, especially for kids who may love desserts,' he added. But with an education background in real estate and finance respectively, Santoso and Setiawan had no prior knowledge on agriculture. 'Everything I've learned has come from a place of curiosity and passion. I picked things up through a lot of self-learning – reading books, watching videos, and spending countless hours researching and experimenting.' For Santoso and Setiawan, much of their knowledge was also gained through the mentorship and guidance of fellow farmers. The first farmer they met was through a friend of theirs in the coffee industry who knew about vanilla farmers in Indonesia that owned plantations. When they visited him in Indonesia, he demonstrated to the couple how to grow vanilla, from the exact soil mixture to the processing of the pods. Over time through social media, Santoso and Setiawan were also introduced to a global network of vanilla farmers, including those from Hawaii, Myanmar, Madagascar and even Bora Bora, where they exchanged knowledge such as how to crossbreed vanilla varieties in Singapore to get new flavour notes. Currently at their Science Park site, which is their biggest plantation in Singapore, Mireia grows five varieties of vanilla: Planifolias, tahitians, pomponas, odoratas and aphyllas. 'Since vanilla was something we learnt how to grow naturally and process, both of us thought, why not start a business with it,' Santoso said. EDUCATING THE PUBLIC 'When we first started planting, people would ask, 'Why is your vanilla black and not white?'' Santoso recalled, explaining that many assumed vanilla was white – a misconception due to the appearance of artificial vanilla. 'That's why we did workshops for people to share our knowledge and let them taste and see, which is real and fake vanilla,' he said. 'In fact, not many people know that artificial vanilla is actually made from petroleum or cow dung." 'Artificial vanilla usually has only one flavour note, which is sweet. But for real vanilla, there are 250 notes,' he explained. 'So people are confused when they eat the vanilla, they say 'Charles, did you add ginger or cinnamon?', but no it's just the natural vanilla flavour notes.' 'The artificial vanilla flavour is very strong,' Setiawan added. 'The real one is more blended, it's very smooth.' STARTING OUT Their first vanilla seed was planted at the corridor of their HDB flat in Tampines, where they started growing a simple 10 vines. As their mini garden flourished, the pair wanted to grow more vanilla plants, but space was becoming a concern. 'The rental (for land) here is very expensive,' Santoso lamented. 'Actually, vanilla plants don't occupy as big a space as vegetables do, but even finding a smaller space in Singapore is quite difficult; it's one of the biggest chunk of costs that every business in Singapore faces.' Due to the unique climate in Singapore, they also had to learn how to tailor their agriculture techniques on their own. 'Even the farmers we talk to from places like Indonesia or Madagascar were also not sure how to care for vanilla in Singapore because the soil, weather, and humidity are all different,' Santoso said. 'For instance we have to get the soil mixture right for the plants to grow,' Setiawan explained. 'Singapore soil is more clayish. Because in Singapore, to make the island bigger, they landfill the area. So most of the soil is not very good for plants.' 'We had to experiment and mix the soil to see what works,' Santoso added. It was only after two to three years of trial and error did they solidify their processes. Santoso explained that it takes eight years for a vanilla plant to grow from the seed. To shorten the time taken, he cuts the plant till its stem to harvest the fully grown vanilla pod to make way for the plant to grow more vanilla. But even after doing so, it still would take four to five years to harvest the vanilla pods. 'That's why the price for vanilla is not cheap, because it takes a long time to grow,' Setiawan said. 'It's labour and time intensive.' He explained that this long duration makes finding a space to grow plants difficult as well, as some vacant places only offer a two to three year contract, which is insufficient for them. 'This is why thankfully, we have solutions from the hotels, restaurants and institutions, who support us and give us space, for example in their empty garden,' Santoso said. SECURING THEIR PROJECT SITES The couple began to reap the fruits of their labour when they secured a project site at Gardens by the Bay in 2021. 'At the time they were having their 10-year anniversary for their collaboration with the Mexican embassy," Santoso said. 'So the Mexican embassy was also suggesting to Gardens by the Bay that they should have vanilla plants there,' he continued, explaining that vanilla historically originated from Mexico. Gardens by the Bay then reached out to Mireia, asking if they could support the garden with their vanilla plants. 'It's more for knowledge purposes; to see what the actual vanilla plants look like,' he said, adding that they now have two project sites there, including one at the Flower Dome. 'We should be proud that we have our own vanilla here in Singapore, that we can pollinate them ourselves and that everything is natural.' Shortly after in 2022, a pop up market Mireia hosted at Henderson Road caught the attention of an F&B director from luxury hotel Shangri-La and offered to house their plants in their herb garden. 'They wanted to have a farm to table concept for their restaurant,' he said. 'Our plants are still there until now.' Thereafter, more hotels like the Four Seasons, Fairmont and Fullerton reached out in 2023 and 2024, wanting to house their vanilla plants in their gardens. 'We're also a member of the hotel associations,' Santoso added. 'For us we don't really advertise, it's mostly through word of mouth; when we open a booth for instance in Sentosa, maybe the chef or manager comes and gets to know about us.' These hotels often use Mireia's organic vanilla in pastries, cocktails, and cooking. They sometimes use their vanilla coffee and tea products in their drinks. 'Actually vanilla is a basic flavour that can be used for anything; our clients even use it for dog food, and making candles and soaps,' Santoso revealed. He added that some hotel restaurants like Fairmont and Four Seasons have even used vanilla beans in their main courses, like roast lamb or duck. 'They use it to make the dish more fusion style,' Setiawan said. 'They would swap out the rosemary used to roast beef for vanilla instead to give the meat a subtle vanilla taste or fragrance.' 'It also makes it more premium and enhances the flavour profile,' she added. 'It's something more creative.' More recently, Mireia also collaborated with Conrad Singapore Marina Bay hotel for an afternoon tea set called La Vanilla. Available from now till Jul 31, the set features both savoury and sweet treats that use Mireia's vanilla. Some dishes include the Tempura Mushrooms and Vanilla Essence with a shoyu-vanilla dip, the Seared Scallop with mango-jalapeno salsa and vanilla espuma, the Matcha Vanilla Sonata which uses Mireia's vanilla matcha, and the Vanilla Peach Tart. Apart from using vanilla in the restaurant dishes, some hotels have come up with other ways to experiment and raise awareness on farm to table concepts. In May 2025, Mireia held an event at The Fullerton Hotel where they brought their vanilla plants, green vanilla, and vanilla pods to showcase to their visitors. The chef then used the vanilla on the spot, mixing it into their desserts like ice cream. 'This event really allowed people to see what vanilla plants look like and learn what green vanilla is,' Santoso explained. 'Because green vanilla is quite difficult to get since it's only available during harvesting time, which happens to be in April and May.' 'It's really nice that they are supporting us.' At times, hotel chefs also invite the couple to their restaurant, hoping they can share their knowledge of vanilla and help them with their cooking. 'When they don't know where this vanilla comes from or whether it's good or not, they will come to us for help,' he said. Santoso added that they also often have chefs and customers telling them that they can taste the difference in their organic vanilla. 'That kind of feedback makes every early morning and late night worth it,' he said. CHALLENGES RUNNING A TWO MAN SHOW Every day, Santoso and Setiawan make their rounds to project sites across the island, which makes for a rather demanding routine, especially under the hot sun. 'Usually we will check if there are any rotten stems, because the stems need to have a certain kind of thickness for it to grow nicely,' Santoso said about his visits to the plantations. 'We will also take out the weeds and adjust the stems to ensure they don't break because they are very fragile. Once the stems break, we'll have to start the whole plant all over again, so we'll need to keep checking and making sure the stem is protected.' In the beginning, when the couple had no background in agriculture, they said that everything came with a learning curve. 'Figuring out how to grow, cure, and process vanilla in Singapore's climate required endless trial and error,' Santoso explained. 'There were seasons where the vines didn't flower or when we lost pods after months of hard work.' 'We bootstrapped everything financially, so there were moments of doubt and stress, wondering if we were doing the right thing. Also, because vanilla takes years to grow and cure, it tested our patience and perseverance on a deep level,' Santoso added. Santoso and Setiawan however, are the only people in the Mireia team, along with a few volunteers who help out occasionally. 'It's challenging to find people who want to volunteer and help us,' Setiawan shared. 'There's not really enough interest in agriculture in Singapore. People here prefer city landscapes.' 'The cost of labour is also very expensive and people want very high salaries,' Santoso said. 'They rather work a white collar job as opposed to getting their hands dirty picking up weeds.' 'But through every up and down, we've stayed grounded in our purpose –creating something pure, honest, and beautiful from nature, with our own hands,' he added. WHAT'S NEXT FOR MIREIA Apart from searching for more clients, the couple said that they are currently looking for a centre to process their vanilla pods, vanilla coffee and tea either in Singapore or overseas. 'We also hope to attract tourists to come to Singapore by showing them we can process vanilla from start to finish,' Setiawan said. 'I think in Asia, not many people really can do end-to-end vanilla production,' she added. 'In countries like Indonesia and Madagascar, there are a lot of people who grow, but outsource their processing.' The couple shared that they are also keeping an eye out for new clients and have noticed Singapore does in fact have spaces for plantations. 'Some are quite abandoned; like at schools, hospitals and warehouses. There's still a lot of space that is not used optimally that maybe nobody knows how to use,' Santoso said. 'I think there is also consensus that Singapore is not a very agricultural place so people tend to think products from overseas have better quality,' Setiawan added. 'We are here to support the country, we don't want Singapore to keep depending on others for resources,' she explained. 'I think Singapore needs to be proud of locally grown produce.' When asked about urban farmers in Singapore, Setiawan said: 'Based on our experience, we need to have a lot of support from the government and other parties.' 'We're really thankful that we get support from the hotels, or institutions that really know how hard it is to have a farm like us,' she added. 'When they know our story, about how genuine we are and they want to support and help us, it's really a blessing.'
New York Times
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Richly Imagined New Historical Fiction
Sing to Me Ever since their exploits were recorded in Homeric Greek, the warriors of the 'Iliad' have been fixtures of our cultural heritage. But in his latest novel, Browner prefers to focus on the unknown lives that were lost on the fringes of the Trojan War, on the damage years of fighting left behind. SING TO ME (Little, Brown, 213 pp., $28) takes place in an apocalyptic landscape of scorched fields and abandoned villages. Its hero is an 11-year-old boy who finds himself alone on the family farm with only a donkey for company. Setting off in search of his father and 6-year-old sister, long overdue after a desperate trek to the markets of the nearby city, Hani heads for 'the road everyone takes before they don't come back.' What he finds at its end is a vast smoldering ruin, abandoned by both its defenders and its attackers — except for one severely wounded Greek. An innocent confronted with unspeakable destruction, Hani struggles to understand what the future holds and what his place in it might look like. 'Now,' he thinks to himself, 'the only combatants left are a dying soldier and a boy with a sling. Is this what people mean when they talk about peace? Maybe peace is just war taking a rest.' The Rarest Fruit The island of Réunion, a French territory off the east coast of Africa, is known for its vanilla. Less well known is the story of the illiterate enslaved boy who figured out how to hand-pollinate vanilla orchids, allowing the wider world to experience a flavor that had been lost since the 16th century, when the Aztec empire was destroyed by the Spanish. Edmond Albius made his discovery in 1841, when he was only 12 years old. It was, as Bélem notes in THE RAREST FRUIT (Europa, 189 pp., $24), just one act in the 'tragicomedy' of a Black child adopted, then exploited, abandoned and finally rescued in adulthood by the white planter whose horticultural knowledge he absorbed without benefit of formal schooling. Told he must be content with toiling as a gardener rather than studying to be a botanist, Edmond 'makes do with what he has and what people deign to give him.' Translated from the French by Hildegarde Serle, Bélem's fictional account of Edmond's experiences is also an ironic portrait of a society in which the official abolition of slavery does little to improve the lives of the formerly enslaved: 'They were running toward freedom as if plowing headlong into a wall, Edmond first among them.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
