We visited a Vanilleria today.  The daughter of our new friends,  Jen and Steve, works her cultivating,  pollinating,  propagating, harvesting and marketing vanilla! 

The flower, a small green orchid
After pollination each flower makes 1 bean
Beans are par-boiled
Soaked then dried
Drying beans
Friendly Gecko, the bug patrol
Pollinating has to be done manually

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