Lifou produces some of the best vanilla in the Pacific — a small, almost cottage-scale industry run by Drehu families on customary land. Several producers welcome visitors for short tours showing how the vines are hand-pollinated, the green pods cured in the sun, and the finished beans sorted and graded.
It's a slow craft — eight or nine months from pollination to a saleable bean — and the smell of a curing shed is unforgettable. Buying direct supports the producers and the pods are a fraction of European prices. Ask in Wé or at your accommodation for someone currently taking visitors; the producers change year to year.