KOTA KINABALU: Rustic Kiulu on the foothills of Mount Kinabalu is set to receive another 1,000 vanilla vines in October as efforts to expand vanilla cultivation and agrotourism in the area gather pace.
The upcoming distribution follows the first phase earlier this year, which saw 1,000 vanilla saplings distributed to residents and community-based tourism operators in Kiulu, the area’s assemblyman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said.
Bangkuai said that he visited My Kebun Vanilla at Kinarut recently to look at vanilla cultivation and preparations for the second phase.
During the visit, My Kebun Vanilla founder Leo Komuji briefed Bangkuai on vanilla cultivation, crop management and market opportunities.
The October programme is expected to include hands-on workshops, briefings on cultivation techniques and the distribution of another 1,000 vines to participating communities.
The expansion is part of ongoing efforts to strengthen Kiulu as a community-based tourism destination while creating more opportunities for rural economic development.
The initiative also provides participants with practical training in farm management, as well as a buy-back arrangement under a contract farming model.
According to Komuji, the programme aims to equip participants with the knowledge and support needed from planting through to harvesting.
The vanilla initiative is also seen as having potential to complement Kiulu’s growing community-based tourism activities, with many of the participants already involved in tourism, said Bangkuai, who is Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister.
He noted that integrating farming and tourism could provide visitors with opportunities to experience vanilla cultivation while giving rural communities another source of income.
Bangkuai, who is also the Sabah Tourism Board chairman, said the response from the Kiulu community following the first phase had been encouraging.
