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C U L T I V A T I O N
wild plants, Anna and the region’s few surviving pepper farmers
set out to resurrect their country’s storied crop. Anna and the
other small producers formed the Kampot Pepper Farmers’
Association (KPFA) to share and safeguard the knowledge and
skills associated with pepper farming. As production ramped up,
the world slowly rediscovered the taste that had made Kampot
pepper famous.
“In the first few years, I only sold a few hundred kilos but now
this has increased to up to six tonnes,” says Anna, now CEO
of Starling Farm – the region’s biggest pepper producer. Anna’s
business expanded rapidly and with demand soaring, she opened
three shops selling her products in her native Kampot as well as
Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.
Her efforts received a major boost when Kampot pepper
became the first Cambodian product to enjoy the European
Union’s protected geographical status, an initiative designed
to certify the origin of regional foods. Under the terms of the
Black pepper, the best-
known variety, has a deeper,
stronger and vaguely floral
flavour with elements of
eucalyptus andmint
