Benzoin, the ingredient that tells a story of a people

Harvested by hand from the trunk of the ‘Styrax tonkinensis’ tree, the rich and diverse scent of benzoin is sweet and comforting. More than an ingredient, benzoin represents a people and a culture.

The time and investment required to cultivate this special resin is huge, as trees can only be ‘tapped’ for benzoin gum after seven years. This prized material is found in forests of the ‘Styrax tonkinensis’ tree, which grows in the landlocked lands of Laos, between Burma, China, Vietnam and Cambodia. Laos is home to 150 villages where 40,000 local farmers are directly involved in harvesting benzoin as an additional income to their staple crops of rice and vegetables.

Making an incision in the bark to make it ‘weep’ releases the benzoin gum, which will form ‘tears’ after about ten weeks. Farmers climb up to a height of 10 metres using a homemade rattan rope ladder to tap the precious, fragrant resin. Apparently simple but physically demanding, this is a skilled technique, which, if we are not careful, will be lost as the generations pass.

To address this dwindling heritage, and a consequent drop in livelihoods, Agroforex, a company founded in Laos, has invested in the benzoin value chain for the last two decades, adopting and upholding an integrated approach that covers all element of benzoin production – from research, production promotion, tree plantations, harvest grouping, pretreatment of benzoin, export, as well as social initiatives. Agroforex has also been instrumental in ensuring international recognition for the Lao benzoin by its key contribution to registering ‘Benzoe tonkinensis’.  

Since 2007, Givaudan has entered into a unique partnership with Agroforex, offering a secure base for our benzoin sourcing in the most northern parts of Laos. We also work together with Biolandes, who import and process the gum into a resinoid that is used by our perfumers.

In the remote mountainous parts of Laos, education is highly valued, and although primary education facilities in this area are generally adequate, the number of secondary schools is insufficient. In many cases, parents are forced to send their children away to secondary education or families move away, to areas with more facilities. This phenomenon of rural exodus threatens the fabric of social cohesion here and the future of a workforce for styrax plantation and benzoin collection.