Vanilla was introduced to The Society Islands in the early Twentieth Century. The island of Taha'a proved to have the best conditions for growing the orchid plant which has led to the island being referred to as the Vanilla Isle. The Valley of Vanilla follows traditional techniques of open air cultivation and hand pollination to product the highest quality vanilla for culinary purposes.

Ilanda Hioe is a vanilla farmer on the island of Taha’a in the Society Islands of French Polynesia. She cultivates vanilla on a piece of land that her family has owned and farmed for over one hundred years. The vanilla orchid and its beans grow plentiful on the island with Hioe and her family tending to the vines in a traditional manner, never employing unnatural techniques to hasten the growth or the drying process.