Symrise and its partner Van Aroma, the largest supplier of patchouli oil worldwide, have launched the Nilampedia platform for farmers in Indonesia on YouTube and Facebook. The platform aims to provide knowledge and share experience on sustainable patchouli cultivation to secure the supply of high quality patchouli oil, and improve the living conditions for farmers and their families. The partners have been running a Bridging The Gap project as part of the wider commitment to sustainable sourcing and growing Patchouli in Indonesia for the past few years. In this context, they have collaborated with Sunflag Agrotech for Agronomy support in this program.

Consumers are becoming more environmentally aware. They are increasingly looking for sustainable products from responsible companies who adopt best practices. Symrise is responding to this shift in consumer demand with Nilampedia, among others. The platform follows a clear sustainable approach – good agricultural practices, long term plans, education and collaboration – to improve the life quality of farmers and their families, linked with the commitment to produce high quality products.

Nilampedia acts as a game changer when it comes to educating farmers with the information they need. Benefits of this platform include providing interactive opportunities between the Nilampedia team and the farming community to discuss agronomical challenges such as flooding or plant diseases in real-time.

Farmers can access Nilampedia on three channels:
1.    YouTube Channel: Nilampedia
2.    Facebook Page: Nilampedia
3.    Facebook Community: Komunitas Nilampedia

“We would like to invite all farmers and their communities to join Nilampedia. We will discuss how to manage soil, seedlings and planting. We will also to talk about irrigation and explain matters relating to harvesting and post-harvest care. We sincerely hope that all patchouli farmers benefit from the information”, said Ramkumar Venkataraman, Symrise’s Vice President of Global Sustainable Sourcing, Scent and Care Division.

"Sharing is caring, and we believe Nilampedia will help bridge the gap between farmers and experts who can advise on the situations farmers face and help solve critical challenges in patchouli cultivation. We believe that educated farmers make better decisions for a sustainable planet. Over the last five years, we have driven this agenda and the patchouli industry today is in a much better position”, added Sandeep Tekriwal, CEO of Van Aroma.