Last November, specialists and organizations from the world of Peruvian gastronomy visited Alto Mayo (San Martín), to learn how the Awajun communities have rescued the Amazonian vanilla and have been managing this orchid sustainably.
The Amazonian vanilla is an orchid that grows naturally in the forest of Alto Mayo. Historically it was used by the Awajún indigenous people as a perfume. Today its use has spread, and it is possible to find it in famous dessert recipes and national dishes. There are more than 500 Awajún producers who have been working with the Amazonian vanilla as a sustainable and harmonious activity alongside their forests, becoming an income alternative to land leasing, one of the main deforestation drivers in Awajun communities.
“What I want most is to continue learning, learning about the microorganisms we find in our forests, because that will help us to recover our soils and have vanillas that grow better,” explains Cherry Jiukam, an Awajún community member who works at the Awajún Propagation Center in the Huascayacu native community, the first of its kind in indigenous territories in Peru.
This center was part of the itinerary of the visit of the experts interested in learning about sustainable vanilla production. This is where the seedlings are grown through a technified irrigation system and research is carried out for the development of biofertilizers and pest controllers with native microorganisms. They also toured Amazonian vanilla plots, the Nuwas Forest and the chocolate module in the native community of Shampuyacu, where vanilla is used to make chocolate with their native cacao.
“We are surprised and excited to know that little by little we are inserting quality products from our different regions that before had to be necessarily sourced from other countries,” said Diego Villagrán, Creative Director of Beverages at Central, the number 1 restaurant in the world. “We are currently using this peculiar vanilla in our creations in our restaurant” added Diego, where they venture into distilling, infusing and even extracting vanilla oils.
The use of Amazonian vanilla as a new ingredient in the country's main restaurants was precisely one of the objectives of the visit. The opening of potential new markets is an opportunity to generate even more income for Awajún producers and, through them, diversify their economy, strengthen their resilience and generate more well-being.
Tajimat Pujut Initiative
Vanilla is cas part of the Tajimat Pujut initiative, that seeks the good living for the Awajún people of Alto Mayo through the recovery of their forests. With vanilla, they diversify their income and conserve their territories. This is possible thanks to the Regional Awajún Indigenous Federation of Alto Mayo - FERIAAM and its partner Conservation International, together with the Asociación Vainilla Perú - AVAIPE.