A tribute to the richest agroforestry system on Earth.

I met Nihal through an email he sent me in 2019. Although TSU receives at least three emails a week from farmers and exporters asking us to buy their coffee, after years one develops a nose for spotting likeminded producers. Nihal was not looking to sell coffee but was simply reaching out to partner with likeminded people. We cupped some of his robusta but it honestly wasn’t very good. Not because it doesn’t have potential (the sweetness of the local variety is like that of thick maple syrup), but because he nor the locals he works with ever received any harvest training. I promised to help him upgrade their processing, but we also started talking about other ways to cooperate.

Seeing the potential in dried jackfruit as a vegan meat alternative, I decided to import some of this to see if a market could develop and test the European waters for Ekoland. All the while I introduced them to my good friend and former TSU volunteer Iona Mulder who started The Good Spice. We have been using the spices she imports from them (ginger, nutmeg, mace and cinnamon) for our own cooking for a year now and honestly, a world opened up for us: the difference between supermarket quality and Iona’s carefully selected specialty spices is the same as between Douwe Egberts and a geisha. I felt I needed to visit this place, guide them in upgrading their robusta processing and check out the mystical “Kandyan forest gardens” for myself. Iona was keen to visit for more than a year as well, so this year we finally made it happen.

“Nowhere on Earth have I seen or heard of such a tremendous “portfolio” of valuable produce crowded into such small farm areas. ”

Let me paint a picture of the agroforestry systems we saw there. Nutmeg and mace grow on huge trees, as do mango, jackfruit, avocado and numerous local species in the emergent (upper canopy) layer, often adorned with high reaching black pepper vines. Seven varieties of true cinnamon (the world’s best), cardamom, cacao and robusta coffee grow in the lower canopy. Where there is full sun and a water line, space is made for bananas, tea, papaya, cassave and annuals such as turmeric and ginger for selling, plus tomatoes, aubergines, passion fruit on trellises and one or two chili bushes, loquats and guava trees for own use close to the home. A bonkers crazy mix of bird sounds fills the air day and night and monkeys, local deer and squirrels are a constant sight. Not all farmers have all of the above plants on their own land, but because the forest gardens are made to fit the topography of the land (not the other way around), you’ll often find this same combination at the village level, owned by several cooperating farmers. Nowhere on Earth have I seen or heard of such a tremendous “portfolio” of valuable produce crowded into such small farm areas. The most inspiring of all is that many of these are plants great companion crops to each other as well.

15 years ago, Nihal inherited a piece of land close to Kandy, in the heart of Sri Lanka. His grandfather was a local village chief of sorts. As is often the case with higher castes, after privileged schooling Nihal’s next of kin moved to the city and weren’t interested the remote and rural place they inherited - after all, all there was were trees and a whole lot of wild animals on a sloped, “unsuitable” area for any development. However, Nihal stepped his grandfather’s footsteps and was determined to make its beauty and richness available to the world.

Fast forward 15 years and Polwaththa Lodge hosts several beautiful canopy lodges and Ekoland Produce not only grows and processes spices from their land, but is buying more and more produce from the local villagers too. As anyone who tried to conquer the center of Sri Lanka would know, the villagers in this area have always resisted outside influence and are suspicious of outsiders. Yet here too, we see the magical formula so often applied to our other value chains: Nihal is both a local with traceable roots to the area, speaks the language of the farmers and has their respect - yet his worldly upbringing taught him to think outside the box, boldly going where no local had gone before in terms of experimenting, finding new direct customers abroad and generally has a progressive attitude towards local development. He married Nel, a Dutch woman and a passionate conservationist and they have a son, Remon, the quiet rationalist behind the scenes who makes sure his dad’s wacky ideas also have a solid business foundation. As in any family business, they squabble and banter quite a bit but are all inspiringly driven and dedicated, each in their own way. 

“The contrast between the rich and prosperous paradise that the island could be and what it actually has been turned into by those in power hurts me to my core.”

As anyone who’s read the news recently knows though, Sri Lanka is not a paradise today. Because of poor governmental policy and overt corruption by the single family and their cronies in power, foreign reserves are depleted, prices for basic foodstuffs and petrol have soared, and people have taken to the streets to demand that the president step down. In contrast to the picture portrayed by international media, these protests have usually been peaceful and have brought together all religions, castes and professions to stride for a common cause. However, there is still no real opposition to the rulers and there are no signs of real change, further adding to the frustration of the protesters. Yesterday the mood turned and the police started firing live bullets at the crowds, one person was killed and many others were wounded. 

The contrast between the rich and prosperous paradise that the island could be and what it actually has been turned into by those in power hurts me to my core. It is my conviction now more than ever that providing a window to the world for local heroes like Nihal who can create a parallel economy based on trust and fairness - even in conditions like these - is a solid development path for all of the coffee producing world. With our Regenerative Producer Crossover coming up in June, the prospect of adding spices and fruits from this Sri Lankan example to the assortment of farmers in other countries excites me too. With the help of social businesses all over the value chain and an army of conscious consumers we could send development aid to the world through our everyday choices: transparently and abundantly rewarding the actual producers who need it most. I am proud to work in such a business, and to see our vision expanding to spices through The Good Spice. Together we have already sowed the seeds for change - and this visit has proved to me that our shared impact will only grow.