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| Farmer transporting cinnamon near Tanjung Kasri |
Cinnamon has been used through the ages for all sorts of things rangingg from embalming to meat preservation. Now when most people think of cinnamon they imagine the delicious powder that you add to bearclaws and sambuca. But there are actually a lot of varieties of cinnamon. The cinnamon you sprinkle on your oatmeal actually comes from a tree,
Cinnamomum verum, which is native to Sri Lanka. This type of cinnamon was first described in Chinese writings dating back almost 5,000 years and was one of the spices that drove European colonization of South and Southeast Asia. Though Sri Lanka is still the major exporter of this type of cinnamon, another variety, known commonly as Cassia or Cassiavera (
Cinnamomum aromaticum) has a wider range, naturally growing from India to Vietnam.
Cassia and other varieties of cinnamon are also used in food, but the principal uses are for pharmaceutical products and cosmetics. Indonesia is the world's leading exporter all types of cinnamon, but the main kind produced here is
Cinnamomum burmanii, which is sometimes considered "inferior" to the kind produced in Sri Lanka. One of the hotbeds of cinnamon production in the archipelago is Kerinci Valley (where I live), which accounts for 40-60% of all cinnamon produced in Indonesia, depending on the year. The cinnamon produced here also comes from the outer part of a tree, and when you cruise around the valley you will see signs of cinnamon production, as farmers lay out
kulit manis (sweet skin) along the side of the road to dry. If you go into the National Park you usually have to walk through a fairly large area of
kayu manis (sweet wood) groves before you get to the real forest. The Kerinci Valley is ideally suited for cinnamon production, as the tree prefers altitudes ranging from 500-1500 meters and annual precipitation of 2,000-3,000 millimeters. The cinnamon produced here is exported to be used in drugs and make-up, and traditionally the US has been the largest market.
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Cinnamomum aromaticum drawing from
Wikipedia. |
Kayu manis first came here in the 1920s. The Kerinci Valley, due to its inaccessibility, was one of the last places to fall under the domination of the Dutch colonial authorities. But when they finally overcame local resistance (1903) to their rule, they quickly recognized the potential of the region, which for centuries had grown surpluses of rice. The rich volcanic soils and abundant rainfall make the area ideal for agricultural production, but the isolated location in the middle of the Bukit Barisan mountains makes it hard to market products outside the region. In 1922 the Dutch built a road through the mountains to link the area to Padang, which transformed the agricultural economy of the area. Before this time most of the farmers grew wet and dry rice for subsistence, but the new road opened the area to the cash economy based on commodities. Many upland fields (
ladang) were given over to tree crop cultivation, and deforestation increased as farmers opened up more fields.
Kayu manis was one of the crops that drove the transformation, and fluctuations in the price of cinnamon have caused waves of deforestation and planting here.
Steps in Cinnamon Production
The first step in making cinnamon is to grow the tree. The bark can be harvested after 5 years, and the price depends on where on the tree the bark comes from and how old the tree is. The best bark comes from trees that are between 20-30 years old; trees of this age will yield between 80-100 kilograms of good bark, whereas a tree 6-8 years old yields 15-25 kilograms of lower quality bark. Thus as you can imagine, kulit manis is a convenient crop because it allows the farmers to wait until the price is most favorable to sell. In addition, since it is a tree crop it has the benefit of carbon sequestration while it is growing. Many agroforestry projects promote cassaviera cultivation because of this. On the other hand there is no day-to-day payoff, and you can't eat kayu manis. So farmers growing cinnamon generally need another source of income while they are waiting for their trees to grow or for the price to go up. Many farmers work as laborers, or they may grow wet or dry rice on other land for food. Some farmers have home-based businesses as well. In the picture to the left you can see a tree that has had the lower bark (the most valuable) removed; this kills the tree. Sometimes farmers cut limbs off the trees, which allows the tree to keep growing, but the
kulit manis from the branches isn't as valuable as that from the trunk.
After the outermost layer of the tree is removed a special tool is used to remove the bark. In the picture to the right you can see a husband-wife team of farmers shaving bark near Tanjung Kasri in Serampas, where
kayu manis is one of the main crops because it doesn't spoil on the long road to the market. Like pretty much all commodities, the price of
kulit manis fluctuates widely, but currently it fetches around 3,000 rupiah (approximately US$.35) per kilogram. The next step is to dry the kulit manis. This takes about 2-4 days, depending on the weather. As it dries it curls up on itself.
In most places, after drying the kayu manis has to be transported to the market. There are two basic patterns here. In some places relatively close to the market a middleman comes to the village to buy the kayu manis directly from the farmers. The middleman then uses a truck to transport the kayu manis to a market town or a city and sells it to a wholesaler. In other more out of the way places the farmers have to transport the kayu manis themselves to the middleman. Cinnamon is a pretty big industry, but the farmers only get between 10-15% of the money. The rest goes to middlemen and processing industries.
So that's the story on cinnamon. Next time you're in the market you can think about the spice's long history and the long journey it makes to your kitchen cabinet.
References and Further Reading
Some of the background for this post comes from Sylvia Werner's excellent PhD dissertation which studied the agroforestry of the Kerinci Valley.
Werner, Sylvia. 2001.
Environmental Knowledge and Resource Management: Sumatra's Kerinci-Seblat National Park. PhD dissertation, University of Berlin.
After the outermost layer of the tree is removed a special tool is used to remove the bark. In the picture to the right you can see a husband-wife team of farmers shaving bark near Tanjung Kasri in Serampas, where kayu manis is one of the main crops because it doesn't spoil on the long road to the market. Like pretty much all commodities, the price of kulit manis fluctuates widely, but currently it fetches around 3,000 rupiah (approximately US$.35) per kilogram. The next step is to dry the kulit manis. This takes about 2-4 days, depending on the weather. As it dries it curls up on itself. 
In a world of convenience stores and fast food, it’s easy to forget that the majority of what we eat is plant based and that plant may not be something local. I put cinnamon in my coffee nearly everyday with out once wondering where it came from. Though I know it’s the bark of a tree, I had not once thought about where that tree was grown or who had done the cultivation. The spice market of Southeast Asia seems to be a root of our modern taste for exotic, novel flavors not readily available in our own backyard. If I had not ever known cinnamon, would I miss it? Probably not but now I have a deeper appreciation for where it comes from and a greater respect for those that make their livelihood and sustenance from farming for a global market.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this post because it is something that has not ever crossed my mind. We use spices everyday not thinking about the different regions they come from, and how and from what plants they are produced. If someone had asked me prior to reading this, where cinnamon originates, I would have not thought Southeast Asia. I just don't think of cinnamon when it comes to food of that region. Your post is so detailed and informative that I am really interested to know how much of your information came from Sylvia Werner's dissertation, and how much came from your own research and experience living in the Kerinci Valley. Before this, I honestly had no idea what geographers did with their lives after receiving an education with an emphasis in geography. It actually seems very appealing... traveling, learning about other cultures and regions, then sharing that information with the rest of the world. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHi Desirae. Good question. Dr. Werner's dissertation is very informative. Part of the historical information in the third paragraph comes from her work.
DeleteI've always loved the taste and smell of cinnamon, and for a person as curious about random things as I am, I never thought to ask or question the origin of the cinnamon sticks I used to put in my hot chocolate when I was younger. I always saw cinnamon as some sort of object that was half way to being food but of course never ate it alone ;) It was very interesting reading this and learning about how cinnamon was made, I had never pictured cinnamon being from the bark of a tree nor imagined the process such an object goes through to make it into my house. It is a shame to hear that these farmers who work so hard to make a living only receive 10-15% of the money from this particular crop. In some ways I even feel a little guilty having consumed cinnamon because I never knew the work involved and the under payed people behind this crops journey from such an exotic part of the world.
ReplyDeleteCinnamon is everywhere, you find it every supermarket and fast food stores. I aways go to Cinnabon to buy their desserts. I never thought of where it comes from and how it grows. This blog fills all the informations about cinnamons. I did not know cinnamon comes from Indonesia.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing of where the cinnamon comes from tree bark. Depending on the age of the trees, farmers could keep track and know when to harvest. What is the difference between kulit manis and Kayu manis ? Is it the types of cinnamon?
Hi there. "Kulit manis" means "sweet skin" or "sweet bark" and refers to the outside of the tree. "Kayu manis" means "sweet wood" and refers to the wood of the tree.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea cinnamon was tree bark! I saw that because the tree will die after they strip the bark, they just take the whole thing down. Does the leftover wood get used for cooking or smoking meet, the same way someone would use the wood of a fruit tree to add a certain flavor to the food? It might be a random thing to ask, but if the wood can infuse a cinnamon-like flavor into food, i think that would be pretty cool as well :P
ReplyDeleteSean that's a good question. Normally they use the wood for firewood, but if I recall correctly it is not really particularly fragrant. I think it's the bark that has the aromatic characteristics to it, and the wood is just, well, wood. Sometimes instead of taking the whole tree down they just cut some of the branches.
DeleteWhat kind of climate does Cinnamomum verum need to grow? Do you think it is possible for it to be grown in Hawaii? Do these trees start off with a seed? If not, how do they start off? If they do start off with a seed, where does the seed come from?
ReplyDeleteHi. That's a good question. The tree needs abundant rainfall and relatively mild temperatures year round. The climate where it grows is similar to that of Hawaii, at least on the windward sides. So maybe it could grow here. I'm not sure.
DeleteOne thing that I did not know is that cinnamon can be used for cosmetics. I was wondering what someone uses cinnamon for in cosmetics? What befits come from it? I was under the impression that cinnamon dried things out thus the cinnamon challenge of eating a spoon full of it is nearly impossible for most people.
ReplyDeleteHi Kailakalani. I'm not sure why anyone would want to eat a spoon full of cinnamon. As for the cosmetic use, all sorts of weird things are used in makeup and such. I think it is used for skincare products and maybe blush, but I'm not really the guy to ask about makeup.
DeleteIt is crazy to think how common of a spice cinnamon is and how many people (including myself) are unaware of the process that it has been going on for thousands of years. It was spices like these that cause many large eaurpean countries to envy the rich agriculture of such a small island cultures such as Sri Lanka. Maybe next time I see someone try to swallow a tablespoon of it for a joke it, I'll tell them the how much time and hard work they'll be spitting into the garabage. Did you get a chance to try thier cinnamon? Is there any difference in taste compared to US cinnamon since it doesn't spoil?
ReplyDelete-Mr. Blak
It interesting that Cinnamon can be used for meat preservation, I always thought that it was only used to food. I always thought there only one type of cinnamon but there’s a lot of varieties of cinnamon.
ReplyDeleteMyself hates the smell of the cinnamon so generally, I don't use or eat it. But it was interesting to see that there are many variety of ways to use cinnamon. At first I was even amazed that the cinnamon came from a tree, which I always thought it came from a flower or some plants that are smaller. Also I thought all cinnamon came from a same plant which I learned that it is from a Cinnamomum verum.
ReplyDeleteIs there any medicinal benefits from the cinnamon? In another words, is there a drug that uses cinnamon as its ingredient?
Wow!! This is amazing I never knew this about cinnamon and did not know there were different types as well. The labor and aging process is very interesting to know so much is put into cinnamon which helps serve the United States market the most. Thank you very much for your blog on this it sheds a lot of knowledge on to what we americans can take so lightly not knowing all of the hard work that goes in to producing the cinnamon. Oh by the way great day that you did it on that is my birthday :)
ReplyDelete