LA PLANTATION
ENCOUNTERING CAMBODIA
They naturally fell in love
It was during an exploratory trip to South-East Asia that Nathalie and Guy, the owners of The Plantation, discovered the region of Kampot and a visit of a pepper plantation was a real revelation.
all the characteristics they were looking for
The Land was founded in 2013
The natural beauty of the site, in the commune of Kon Sat – land backing on to the mountains, overlooking the Secret Lake, with breathtaking views of Bokor Mountain, on one side, and the sea and Phu Quoc Island in Vietnam, on the other side.
They had the soil tested by several laboratories in order to ensure that it was suitable for the pepper plantation project.
They had to find the team to help develop the project. Mr. Keak Heng, grandson of pepper planter immigrant from South China in the late 19th century joined La Plantation to take charge of the inception and management of the pepper farm. With more than 50 years of experience in the field, Mr. Keak is considered as one of the best experts in the Kampot Pepper appellation. He is the guarantor of the quality of the cultivation and production of La Plantation’s pepper.
team of farmers
recruited from neighboring villages
The Farmers are La Plantation's Cambodian family and enjoy very good working and housing conditions in the region.
DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT
La Plantation manages 22,000 Kampot pepper posts on around 20 hectares. They grow the pepper in a traditional, organic way, in strict compliance with the PGI standards for Kampot pepper and use only organic fertilizers. They also grow other spices, like Long pepper, Turmeric and wild Chili and local fruits and vegetables.
largest farm
Although the plantation is one of the largest of the Kampot PGI, the objective is not to produce pepper on an intensive scale.
On the contrary, La Plantaion has chosen to produce a pepper with a primary focus on quality, if necessary to the detriment of the production yield per hectare.
KPPA BOD
La Planation also sits on the board of directors of the Kampot Pepper Promotion Association (KPPA), which is chaired by Mr Lay.
KPPA is in charge of inspecting the farms, protecting and promoting Kampot Pepper quality and brand all around the world.
La Plantation
employing more than 100 Cambodian people full-time
During the harvest season, we hire 150 additional daily workers. Between February and April, fully ripe Peppercorns are harvested by hand, the Red Peppercorns are even harvested corn by corn.
Production
food safety First
In order to meet the very high quality, food safety and hygiene requirements of European, American and Japanese importers, La Plantation has built a plant in order to process the pepper and spice production. This is a pilot plant in Cambodia.
Kampot Pepper
The major production stages
Harvesting, selecting by hand, washing, boiling and lastly sun-drying over 3 days. Dry peppercorns are then selected by hand to be in compliance with the PGI standard requirements. For food safety and hygiene, they are packed in hermetically sealed packs. We use only natural and recycled packaging.
