Sustainable Vanilla & Spice Supply Chain via Agroforestry & Direct Trade
LAFAZA strives to enrich lives through sustainable practices that prioritize fairness, conservation of the environment and provide premium organic products. We are devoted to making a lasting difference in farmers' livelihoods while delivering exceptional quality goods!
Flavor with an Impact
At LAFAZA, we think of the spice trade in Madagascar a little differently.
Our unique, community-based direct trade model significantly improves upon conventional market relationships. This approach yields vanilla products with a deeply rich flavor and has a very real positive impact on both the forests and the farming communities that depend on them.
We've partnered directly with small farmers and grower cooperatives since 2005 to produce and export some of Madagascar's highest-quality natural vanilla. Our business model allows us to pay farmers a premium price for exceptional vanilla beans while providing great value to our customers.
Direct Trade vs. Fair Trade
The key differentiator is what each of these practices is trying to solve.
Fair Trade generally supports developing nations, and was designed as a way to lift farmers from poverty. However, Fair Trade certification is expensive to obtain limiting many farmers from acquiring certification. Producers who can't afford the fees stay poor, and those who can afford the fees then have the potential to earn more. Additionally, Fair Trade does not require quality standards, so lesser quality products sell for the same amount as high-quality products.
Direct Trade supports building more sustainable trade practices, helping both farmers and the industry without added cost. Farmers consistently get higher prices than they would with just Fair Trade certification. Growers (and ultimately, consumers) get higher quality vanilla as strong direct trade relationships develop and expand over the years. There's a transparent reliability and accountability between parties that goes beyond a simple "Fair Trade" relationship.
People
LAFAZA's unique relationship with the Malagasy farmers leads to a deeper commitment to product quality and long term production strategies. Our team is "on-the-ground" allowing for better access and communication with our partners 365 days a year.
Planet
Rather than large, mono-cropped plantations, LAFAZA vanilla comes from independent, small-holder farmers whose dense agroforesty systems act much more like a healthy forest, providing habitat and supporting rich biodiversity.
Prosperity
We are proud to pay farmers a premium price, invest in their cooperatives, and help support libraries and community centers in the rural forest communities where LAFAZA vanilla is grown. Over 25,000+ smallholder farmers and Malagasy partners benefit from the economic success of LAFAZA.
"We made a commitment a long time ago to try to do the hard work of day-to-day sustainability in Madagascar and to make direct trade a core pare of what we do. As we scale up, we are still out there making sustainability a lived reality for our partners and staff in rural villages."
Nathaniel Delafield
Co-Founder and CEO
"Vanilla is part of larger managed forests that have alot of other culturally important crops. These vanilla fields are where people have celebratory ceremonies, it's where they speak to ancestors, it's where memories are stored. As people farm this land they're telling past histories. So I'd say it's really important as a place of identity, of family knowledge, of land stewardship."
Sarah Osterhoudt
Co-Founder & Sustainability Advisor
"We take an active approach to sustainability. We're all a part of this interlaced and interactive community. Whether we are talking about team members in Madagascar or the US, we get excited about hearing what practices work bests at specific locations or what insights new hires and partners come in with. This exchange sets us up for lasting relationships with positive impacts on the nature of global trade."
James Delafield
Co-Founder & President
"Our model may sound simple, but is a real challenge to do at scale. By working directly with farmers, we ensure that they are treated fairly, and we are able to bring some of the highest quality products available to market. We provide farmers with transparency and reliability around pricing, payments, and deliveries. Unfortunately, this is not the norm for most vanilla farmers in madagascar. The LAFAZA approach is a departure from business as usual, and we see the meaningful impacts on farmers' lives daily."
Dan Pargee
Chief Operating Officer
DOING THE WORK TO ACHIEVE A BETTER FUTURE
Innovation & Perspective
Since before sustainability was popular in the industry, we have been on the ground in Madagascar, innovating, problem-solving, and strengthening relationships. And not just around vanilla. Our producer partners are living daily with a lack of resources. We are always looking for ways to minimize that lack through positive impact in the three areas that define the DNA of LAFAZA - forests, farmers, and flavors. Whether it's lending a vehicle for one farmer to travel to a family member in need, or providing rice to hundreds of families during the hungry season, or training farmers on business and supply chain principles, we are invested in the health of the farmers, the forests and the flavors everywhere thatLAFAZA works.
Our team is in constant communication betweenUS staff members, farmers, cooperatives, and LAFAZA employees in Madagascar on the regular.This consistent communication builds trust and teamwork, which strengthens the sense of community on every level.This is part of the unique DNA of LAFAZA - the opportunity to share our viewpoint on what sustainability is, how we view it, and hopefully bring more people along on the journey. Because the more people that participate in this journey, the better.It's a 365-days-a-year effort that doesn't stop just because the harvest is over and doesn't pause just because something isn't being bought or sold.We aim to educate our customers while also making it easy for them to make a sustainable purchasing choice due to the value and quality of our products.Whether we're a small part of their supply chain, or a major contributor to how they approach sourcing for their business, LAFAZA brings value to customers large and small through competitive pricing, exceptional quality, and industry-leading sustainability work. We all win when great flavor combines with great impacts in communities that need them most.
THE LAFAZA DIRECT TRADE MODEL VS. TRADE AS USUAL
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WHAT SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH LOOKS LIKE
We are proud to pay farmers a premium price, invest in their cooperatives, and help build libraries and community centers in the rural forest communities where LAFAZA vanilla is grown.
We believe that these communities deserve long-term commitments from partnerships offering direct market access to consumers of gourmet ingredients around the world.
Working directly with farmer-led organizations, we draw from our expertise and local partners in Madagascar to forge respectful, transparent, and effective relationships with cooperatives to:
- Build trusting, empowering relationships in the communities where we work.
- Provide training and skilled employment opportunities, especially for women, who are instrumental in curing high-quality vanilla beans.
- Invest in social development projects including community libraries and resource centers.
- Foster farmer-to-farmer linkages across Madagascar, creating a space for farmers to come together to share their knowledge, questions, and expertise.
Thank you for taking the time to learn more about LAFAZA's mission to embrace the powerful benefits of everyday sustainability and direct trade sourcing models.
Our hope in the years to come is to continue putting more money in the hands of farmers, nurturing and protecting forest environments, and sharing the stories of the amazing flavors used in our LAFAZA line of products.
We are grateful for all our wonderful stakeholders - customers, employees, producers, and families - who have contributed to the success of LAFAZA thus far.
