Vanilla Project

Overview

At Maya Mountain Research Farm (MMRF), we focus on keystone activities—initiatives that deliver the greatest impact with the most efficient use of time and resources. One such activity is our Vanilla Project, designed to establish an organic vanilla industry in southern Belize.

Through this project, we aim to empower women, strengthen food security, sustain rural livelihoods, and promote ecologically responsible farming—all while helping small farmers in the Toledo District increase their income through a valuable, high-demand crop.

Project Milestones

• 2005: Established an ex situ wild vanilla gene bank of 250 vines, recording their growth and studying the species. Site visits to vanilla operations in Mexico and Guatemala helped refine our approach.
• 2007: Launched a feasibility and pilot program with a diverse group of local farmers across Toledo, representing varied ages, genders, ethnicities, and communities.
• 2007: Farmers participating in the project founded the Organic Vanilla Association (OVA)—now dormant but with hopes for revival.
• 2010: Harvested our first significant crop of vanilla beans.
• 2012: Distributed additional vanilla vines to area farmers.
• 2012–2024: Continued planting vanilla across the farm using the induced patchiness method, ideal for sub-canopy species.
• 2023–2025: Through our consulting arm, MMRF Belize Permaculture & Renewable Energy, we provided vanilla cuttings and hands-on training for women’s groups and schools in Corozal, Bella Vista, and Belmopan, in partnership with the Ministry of Investment.

Our trainings—led by Celini and Christopher Nesbitt, alongside former student Cirilia Chee—covered cultivation, species selection, site and tutor choice, stingless bee raising, and cooperative-based value chains.

We’re deeply grateful to our partners, including the Ministry of Investment, Frantz Smith, Mr. Blake, Teacher Reina Zavala, and all the dedicated educators, students, and women’s groups who made these sessions a success.

Background

Vanilla is a rare orchid native to the understory of Toledo’s forests and the humid lowlands of Central America. Once harvested by the ancient Maya, it has since become scarce in Belize. The vanilla bean—the cured fruit of Vanilla planifolia or Vanilla pompona—requires hand pollination and careful curing, a process lasting up to nine months.

Globally, vanilla is mainly produced in Madagascar, Indonesia, Uganda, Mexico, and Papua New Guinea, with the U.S. and Europe as top consumers. Market prices fluctuate dramatically, reaching as high as US$500 per kilo in 2003.

Cultivation and Community Impact

Smallholder Focus:
Vanilla thrives under the care of small farmers—those who personally tend each plant. In Toledo, where most families farm small plots, vanilla offers a path to increased income without leaving home or abandoning traditional livelihoods.

Women’s Empowerment:
Vanilla can be cultivated right in household yards, offering women an income source that complements family and community life. This supports both economic independence and traditional roles.

Food Security:
Integrating vanilla into diverse agroforestry systems strengthens resilience. High-value crops like vanilla make sustainable farming financially viable, reinforcing long-term food security.

Ecological Services:
As a non-timber forest product (NTFP), vanilla grows best within tree-based systems that mirror natural forests. This model supports soil health, biodiversity, and environmental conservation—turning farming into a force for regeneration.

Risks and Conservation

While wild vanilla stands have been depleted globally, Toledo still harbors healthy wild populations. Protecting these genetic resources requires local awareness, research, and community stewardship.

Vanilla’s cultivation potential offers a rare opportunity: to link economic growth, women’s empowerment, and ecological restoration into one unified model for sustainable rural development in Belize.