I have been back in Phnom Voar, the heart of the Kampot Pepper region, for about a month and have been visiting small farmers as well as the Kampot Pepper Promotion Association (KPPA) that represents hundreds of small pepper farmers in Kampot and Kep provinces – the only areas that are allowed to use the GI (geographical indication) mark.
From the KPPA website:
Ancestral know-how
These pepper lovers, smitten with their product, proud of their traditional values and definitely looking into the future, are the keepers of an ancestral know-how, of a way of production where the man and his land make one with a unique goal: producing the highest quality pepper.
It is truly wonderful to witness the re-birth and expansion of such an ancient farming system that will help ensure the community and economic development of an area so devastated by civil war.
We are now working directly with KPPA to help build a Fair Trade distribution system for the Kampot Pepper Farmers. Here’s a short video I took at a local farm: