A Taste of a Better Future
Because you purchased vanilla today, the people of Karimui, Papua New Guinea, can buy basic needs like soap, salt, cooking oil, clothing, pay school fees for their kids and buy school uniforms.
thank you
Vanilla, chocolate, coffee, these are all luxury items that we buy to enjoy something a bit special, a delicious dessert or a fortifying coffee. What is luxury to us enables farmers in PNG to buy the necessities. Mission Aviation Fellowship is the link.
When farmers in Australia take their produce and livestock to market, they call in a truck. But what do you do when there are no roads? You call in a MAF plane. MAF planes flying into remote, isolated communities in Papua New Guinea that have no roads linking them to larger towns.
MAF planes are the transport connecting farmers to their buyers. Without MAF there would be no way of getting these luxury items that we enjoy so much to buyers in a timely way. Produce would spoil and farmers would not be able to earn an income.
Support Flights for Farmers in PNG
Farmers in the Karimui district of Papua New Guinea walk for days just to bring their precious harvest to the airstrip for collection by MAF. Without delivery by plane, families would miss out on the income to sustain their communities.
It’s not just that the walk takes such a long time but that it can also be dangerous. “Sometimes, when the big rivers are flooded, it takes some days to stay along the way and then travel,” said vanilla farmer, Mopa Paleah. “Sometimes farmers risk their lives crossing.” Mopa explained what it means for the farmers in the remote region to get income for their work. “I receive their vanilla and sell it,” he said, holding a heap of vanilla on the palm of his hand.
“I bring the farmers’ money back and they buy their salt, their cooking oil, whatever they need, and they go back home joyful. The people in the bush bring their vanilla, I bring mine as well, and we go to the MAF plane. If the MAF plane doesn’t fly to this place full time, I think all our produce would be a waste.”
MAF pilot, Brad Venter knows the importance of providing this economic lifeline to the farmers of Karimui. “The people have good vanilla, yet they have limited market space,” Brad said. “The more the vanilla remains with them it gets spoilt, so we look for buyers for them. “As soon as there is one, we fly the vanilla to Goroka and sell it.”
The farmers rely on Mopa to sell their produce and he knows he can rely on MAF to deliver. “The MAF pilots advise me whenever there is a buyer, and I inform the farmers,” Mopa said. “The buyers pay, and the pilots bring the money in cash. I pay the farmers, and the work of vanilla pays off and blessing continues. “I see the hand of God through MAF’s mission, they do a good work serving us, regarding vanilla.”
What to do with the vanilla
Split the bean lengthways
Pull the bean open to expose the seeds
Scrap out the seeds with the dull side of a knife.
Add to baking like you would use vanilla extract or essence or add to hot drinks like coffee or tea for a luxury vanilla flavour.
make your own homemade
- Vanilla custard
- Vanilla yoghurt
- Vanilla ice-cream
- Vanilla whipped cream
by adding your scraped vanilla seeds to raw ingredients
1 whole vanilla bean = 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Recipe Idea – Mum’s Custard
Adapted from Mum’s Custard from ‘May I Lick the Bowl?’ Used with permission.
serves 4
INGREDIENTS
- 600ml milk
- 1 egg
- 30 g (heaped tbsp) butter
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- ½ vanilla bean scraped seeds
METHOD
- Heat milk slowly until hot, do not boil.
- Pour half the hot milk (300ml) into the blender with remaining ingredients. Blend 30 seconds or until combined. Alternatively whisk half the milk with remaining ingredients until well combined.
- Pour mixture gradually into remaining milk stirring over the heat until sauce boils. Simmer to thicken on low heat for 3 minutes.
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