Madagascar
Ravintsara, ylang-ylang, ginger and more

Long-standing partnerships throughout
world shape our collaboration.

Fragrant plants: pink pepper, pepper, ravintsara, ginger, vanilla, ylang ylang, cinnamon, clove bud, etc
Growing area: Ambanja Province, Madagascar
Cultivation partner since: 2012
Cultivation area: approx. 20 to 30 ha

Tropical forests and bizarre landscapes, lemurs and chameleons, baobabs and a stunning variety of aromatic plants: Our ethnobotanical journey leads to a project that demonstrates a path to preserving natural diversity while securing people's livelihoods. Even the last remnants of Madagascar, a biodiversity hotspot, are threatened by poverty and overseas exploitation.

In the north of the island, farfalla is a partner in the organic Fairtrade project which is characterized by its strong commitment to infrastructure, education, and medical care.

"Grand Cru" - our Oscar for particularly high-quality organic oils whose origin is distinguished by social or ecological added value.

Arrival on the Red Island
This is it, the Grande Île, the big, red island. Upon arrival in the capital, it initially appears black. A black evening sky over the city of Antananarivo, with black smog that accompanies us out of the city the next day. Black is the colour of the burned-down fields, traditionally made fertile through slash-and-burn agriculture, which cover the island's central plains in place of the former primeval forests. After a brief cultivation period, the thin, nutrient-poor layer of soil will be eroded, leaving behind the red laterite that gives it the nickname "l'île rouge."

Threatened paradise of biodiversity
Madagascar, the sixth continent, is known as a paradise of biodiversity, yet a politically and ecologically troubled country. Poverty threatens the island's natural wealth; forests are burned for rice cultivation and livestock farming, and jungle giants such as rosewood are felled and illegally shipped overseas. Who can afford to think about nature conservation when their family needs to be fed? Our ethnobotanical journey takes us to the tropical, humid north of the island, where a promising project is paving the way for biodiversity conservation and providing sustainable support to an entire region: with a form of agriculture that is integrated into and protects existing forests (agroforestry), with a cooperative of over 2,000 smallholder farmers, and with an infrastructure focused on education and medical care.

Hello, vazaha!
After a roughly twenty-hour drive through the mountains, through barren, red valleys and plains, the landscape changes. Our eyes delight in every splash of color: the riverbeds reflecting the blue sky, shaded by giant mango trees, the glowing chameleons on the roadside, the people's brightly patterned clothing. "Salut, vazaha!" – hello, strangers – someone calls to us through the window, and finally, the green patches coalesce into a Garden of Eden: We have arrived in the microclimate of the Sambirano, where the earth steams and the sultriness embraces us – for we are not close enough to the coast, where the sea breeze constantly provides refreshment. Not far from the Mozambique Channel, the area surrounding the provincial town of Ambanja is characterized by lush green vegetation. Here, the ylang-ylang tree bears its fragrant lemon-yellow blossoms.

The tropical humidity with almost daily rainfall provides ideal conditions for agriculture, which provides a livelihood for approximately 60% of the population. The most important crop is cocoa, and a variety of aromatic plants are also cultivated here – naturally, including by our organic Fairtrade cooperative. The local essential oils of ylang ylang, pink peppercorn, ravintsara, vetiver, and others carry the "Grand Cru" label in the farfalla range are grown here. "Grand Cru" is the farfalla Oscar for particularly high-quality organic oils whose origins demonstrate social or ecological added value. 

Advantages
Planting and harvesting are typically women's work, while men do the plowing and work around the distillery. A six-day week with a regulated eight-hour day and above-average wages aren't the only advantages for the organic plantation's employees:  "What I like here," says Justine, a long-time ylang ylang picker, "is the better working conditions thanks to the infrastructure, such as toilets and showers or the first aid station near the harvest zones – and also the good culture of co-determination and the opportunity to contact management directly for questions and information." 

Medical assistance for the entire region
One percent of the cooperative's profits go into a fund. This was used to finance the renovation of the village school and sanitation facilities, as well as a cultivation consultant who trains villagers in organic rice cultivation and helps increase yields in home gardens. The affiliated medical center improves medical care for the 30,000 people in the surrounding villages. The system functions similarly to a health insurance system, which is not common in Madagascar: Employees pay a small percentage of their wages into medical care, which they and their families can access if necessary.

Partnership with over 2000 organic smallholder farmers
In addition to its own organic plantations with its permanent staff, the project also has an important trading partnership: the direct, fair purchase of harvests from around 2,000 small organic farmers who cultivate cinnamon, vanilla, ginger, and others on often very remote areas.  Through purchase and price guarantees, the cultivation of aromatic plants secures their income, protects them from exploitative middlemen and is a real alternative to the illegal export of precious timber, the hunting of lemurs or the slash-and-burn livestock farming.

Organic mixed culture in the crop jungle
A visit to the pink peppercorn plantation fulfills a biodiversity dream. The Schinus terebinthifolius, known as rose or Brazilan pepper tree—though not related to black peppercorn—seems to grow here in the middle of the rainforest. At first glance, we fail to realize that we are not standing in a jungle, but in the middle of an agroforestry forest—full of a wide variety of crops allowed to grow wildly: ylang-ylang next to cocoa, mango, and vegetables, papaya next to citrus fruits, and in between the enormous Brazilian peppercorn trees with their pink berries. Harvesting them is done entirely manual, and later, groups of women sort them with a small brush—a huge effort that is Fair Trade-certified and secures an income for several women. Once dried, the berries are steam distilled, releasing their spicy, oriental-scented essential oil with its bouquet of floral notes. 

A forest full of “good leaves”
Malagasy agronomist Mimi planted 3,000 ravintsara, or camphor,  trees for the organic fair trade project. Ravintsara means "good leaf" in Malagasy, and its essential oil is particularly valued there for colds. The young ravintsara forest is also intended to protect the soil from erosion and provide a counterpoint to the daily destruction of vast forest stands. Although the fragrant forest is only about 20 kilometers from the distillery, the disastrous condition of the road makes the journey a torture: The arduous journey over the bumpy road to transport the ravintsara leaves to the plantation takes almost a day.

Building a bridge
Prospects created by education – another aspect of the project that's very important to us here in Madagascar. This included repairing a bridge that now allows the children of the village school to get to school even during the rainy season. And during our visit, we were greeted by a cheering crowd of children: "Merci aux amis farfalla! Thank you to our friends from farfalla!"