Vanilla and Basil

Dear Reader,

Which is your favourite flavour for ice-creams, cakes and other confectionaries? For me, it is vanilla. And I am not alone. Vanilla is regarded as the most popular aroma and flavour in the world, though there are no statistics to back it. A subtle combination of sweet, woody and floral notes, vanilla can blend with other flavours or stand out on its own. 

So vanilla made last week very interesting. I spoke to Chinmay Tanshikar, an organic spice farmer who also grows vanilla on his farm in Sanguem, Goa. Did you know vanilla is the world’s second costliest spice after saffron? That’s because the bee that pollinated vanilla flowers is extinct, and farmers pollinate it manually now.

Chinmay sold organic vanilla beans at Rs12,000 per kg last season, earning Rs15 lakh per acre. But in 2020-21, when the demand outstripped supply, he sold them at Rs30,000 per kg! Do read this story. 

My colleague Niroj spoke to Alok Pattnaik, an MBA who quit his job at Tata Automotive to return to his village in Keonjhar. He now grows basil (tulsi) over 10 acres of land taken on lease from local tribal people. 

He pays them rent and also employs them on the farm, where around 8 litres of essential basil oil is produced daily, generating monthly revenues of around Rs 6 lakh. While the tribal people were grazing animals on the land earlier, now they are earning assured livelihood.

My colleague Aruna wrote a very inspiring story last week. She spoke to engineer couple Kalyani and MN Dinesh, who have been working for almost two decades to bring millets back to Indian kitchens. Their venture, Earth 360, has helped set up 50 millet-based enterprises and supported over 10,000 farmers to start millet cultivation in south India.

Earth 360 is also popularising millets with its ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat products. They clocked a turnover of Rs2.05 crore last fiscal, but their work continues to provide a stable income to thousands of families.

Our Sunday story is on Adalaj ki vav, a stepwell in Gujarat. Its construction was started in 1498 by Rana Veer Singh, who died in a battle with Mahmud Begada, a neighbouring king. The stepwell was later completed not by but because of Rana’s queen Rudabai. How she did it is detailed in the story.

In the Money section, Karan has written about a topic most people are emotional about – writing a Will. The practice is uncommon due to emotional reluctance or the desire to avoid premature distribution of property. However, the benefits of having a valid Will outweigh these concerns. 

Happy Reading!

Warmly,

Rashmi