 Our vanilla and clay farms were started more than three decades ago by my parents, who passed them along to me. I come from a large family, and roughly 30 of us are involved in the business, in agriculture and marketing, supporting each other every step of the way. Our vanilla was planted more than 30 years ago on Salawesi, the northern part of this island. It has always been cultivated organically, without any pesticides or other chemicals whatsoever. The main difference between our organic vanilla and vanilla that has grown conventionally elsewhere in Indonesia is that from the moment conventional farmers plant vanilla, they surround it with crops that use fertilizers. The vanilla content found in the vanilla beans of this region is higher, because the harvest time is longer. In other regions, the vanilla is harvested after seven months or less, but here the plant can grow for eight. The first step is to plant covering trees to shelter the fragile vanilla seedlings. After three months, we plant the vanilla under the trees. Pollinating can only happen when the flower of the vanilla plant blooms. We must check it every day, because once a flower blooms, if it is not pollinated, it will die the next day. I treat the vanilla plant almost like a baby. Pollinating vanilla is a very delicate process, and if it is not done carefully, the flower will easily become bent or broken, and will not survive. To pollinate the vanilla, the worker presses an instrument into the yellow part of the flower with his thumb. After one day, the plant will take on disappearce. After cutting, we lay the green vanilla on the ground for three days to keep it soft. The organic practices we use are all natural, and add value to the product. Conventional farmers are actually paying more to grow their plants by using pesticides and fertilizer. I have explained organic to many farmers in this region, that this is a healthy way to grow food, that is also healthy to eat. My family began farming on this island more than 70 years ago, first by establishing clove plantations. Dried clove is a wonderful remedy for stomachaches. If you chew it and drink a lot, it will warm your stomach. The red plants are ready to pick. The ones that are not yet ready have a green yellow color. We pick the cloves very carefully to make sure we do not damage the branches. After collecting the clove, the farmers need to dry it right away, otherwise it can become moldy. The sooner the drying process is done, the better the quality and weight of the clove. I believe in the next 5 to 10 years, our organic farming business will become even more popular internationally, allowing our workers and all the people of this region to prosper. I am very grateful that one degree is not only introducing our products to so many customers, but also introducing us as farmers, as people, and as a community to every consumer who is enjoying our clove and vanilla.