HISTORY OF KAMPOT PEPPER
FROM ANGKOR TO BECOME WORLD'S FINEST
From Angkor civilization ...
Pepper in Cambodia has a centuries’ long history which precedes the great civilization of the kings of Angkor. The Chinese explorer Tchéou Ta Kouan describes pepper production in Cambodia as early as the 13th century.
Angkor Temple To Indonesian wars...
In 1873-1874, war erupted in the Aceh province of Indonesia. Unable to contain the powerful Dutch army, the sultan of Aceh - not wanting to leave this wealth in the hands of his enemies - burned down his pepper plantations. Part of the production then moved to Cambodia, in the Kampot region.
French protectorate
Then under French protectorate Kampot Province witnessed a real “pepper fever” with the arrival of the French colonists at the end of the 19th century. They intensified the production and produced up to 8000 tonnes a year at the beginning of the next century. "Steak au Poivre", Pepper Steak, became the rage in Paris in the 1920's.
In the middle of the 20th century, Kampot Pepper was at its pinnacle. Production which stabilized around 3000 tonnes per year is of exceptional quality. Kampot Pepper is then the spice of choice for the top French restaurants.
The dark days...
In 1975, the Khmer rouge took over the country and put in place a regime of terror that ruled the country for the next 5 years. Land and people were monopolized in order to grow rice almost exclusively. During this period, 2 million Cambodians disappeared, infrastructure was destroyed, and intellectual elites systematically eliminated. Since the 1998 elections, the country enjoys again a relative calm but everything needs to be rebuilt
These 5 years of terror and the 30 years of civil war that followed put a stop to the pepper production in Kampot. Pepper farms almost completely vanished and only a few poles remained out of the million still in place in the 60’s.
A rising hope...
At the end of the 20th century, producers’ families came back on their ancestral land. Coming from several generations of pepper producers, they naturally cleared the land left abandoned and started cultivating their favorite spice once again.
A new era starts...
In 2006, thanks to the support of private business and development organizations, production picks up and recovers its former glory. And in 2009 Kampot Pepper was granted an official "Geographic Indicator" by the EU and Cambodia, to protect the quality of reputation of this fine Pepper.
THE TASTE OF HERITAGE
AN INTRODUCTION TO KAMPOT PEPPER FROM CAMBODIA
All Kampot Pepper Producers adhere to the Geographical Indication Controlled by ECOCERT. They meet the criteria of geographical indication as well as the strict specifications loads regarding Kampot Pepper.
Kampot farms use only natural fertilizers and pesticides. All Pepper cuttings must origin from Kampot Pepper vines. Vines are planted on small linear billons. A space of at least 1,80 m shallseparate the vines with a visible location for the input of natural fertilizers and new soil. A shelter has to be built and maintain on the plantation to provide shadow to the pepper vines, at least until they are 3 years old. Each parcel of pepper should be elevated to allow proper drainage of rainwater. New soil must be added regularly.
ECOCERT is an organic certification organization, founded in France in 1991. It is based in Europe but conducts inspections in over 80 countries, making it one of the largest organic certification organizations in the world.
ECOCERT primarily certifies food and food products, but also certifies cosmetics, detergents, perfumes, and textiles. The company inspects about 70% of the organic food industry in France and about 30% worldwide. ECOCERT is also a leading certifier of fair trade food, cosmetics and textiles as per ECOCERT Fair Trade standards.
KAMPOT PEPPER THE CHAMPAGNE OF PEPPER WAS AWARDED GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION (GI) IN 2010
National Geographical Indication Logo is crucial management tool authorize to use it for any member of Geographical Indication Association on the final product after being completely certified by external control body (Third party) for compliance with the Code of Practice (CoP) of the producers and operators by the Department of Intellectual Property Rights, Ministry of Commerce.
The delimited geographical area for the production of Kampot pepper consists in the following districts: Kampong Trach, Dan Tong, Bantheay Meas, Angkor Chey, Kampong Bay and Kampot, in Kampot province; Kep and Domnak Chongaer districts in Kep province.
To be eligible for the production of Kampot pepper, the plot of land does not have only to be located in the delimited geographical area, but has also to fulfil specific conditions related to its soil and location as developed in “Production Methods”. Production, processing and packaging have to be done in the delimited geographical area.