Amazonian Vanilla Market Creation as an Enabler of Sustainable Development in Rural Ecuador

Trade and market access have proven to be key drivers of economic stability and poverty reduction globally. Yet, for many indigenous Kichwa farmers living in Amazonian Ecuador, significant barriers exist that prevent them from reaping the full benefits provided by trade and markets. Chronic poverty is still very present in these rural areas and deeply intertwined with environmental degradation of highly biodiverse ecosystems through large-scale resource extraction and unprofitable mono-crop agriculture. Especially women are disproportionately affected by poverty cycles in these traditionally male-dominated contexts and often excluded from economic development and social mobility.

This feasibility study introduces an inclusive approach for strengthening community resilience and rainforest conservation in rural Ecuador by exploring the creation of an Ecuadorian premium vanilla market with an active and participatory value chain integration of smallholder farmer cooperatives from Amazonian Kichwa communities. The study will assess the international market potential of the Amazonian type of the "Queen of Spices" and its possibility to be cultivated and commercialized through indigenous community enterprises. The objective is to generate a higher and more stable economic income for local communities, strengthen female indigenous leadership opportunities, protect endangered vanilla orchids, and facilitate new vanilla product developments in Ecuador and the UK.