Growing Stevia for Cash in Ecuador

Stevia is a plant that originates from the South American Amazon (Paraguay region) that is used as a natural sweetener with zero calories used in the place of sugar.  It grows in the tropics up until 2,400 meters of altitude provided it has a steady, almost daily water source.

I know first hand that sugar is dangerous (especially for your waistline) and addictive.  The less you have the less you want it.

Why Stevia?

Also, I know first-hand through serving food at the restaurant in my hotel, sometimes we serve as many as 40 people in one night, that people are getting more and more sugar-carb-gluten-lactose conscious than ever before and any product that fits in with those diets can be a winner.

I also like that the harvest cycle is short, every 3 months you can expect a new harvest.  So I should know quickly if this is a true money maker.

80,000 plants can enter into one hectare.  I´m going to start with 40,000 plants.  Each plant is expected to produce 40-120 grams of dried leaf product each three months.  The kilo sells here in Ecuador for around $4 per kilo.  So for 40,000 plants at the low end of 40 grams per plant thats 1,600 kilos each 3 months.

Total expected income from 40,000 plants each three months= $6,400.  Total per year= $25,600.

What will I really make?  Stay tuned to this newsletter to find out.

Expected initial costs.

I’ve been covering the costs as I go.  So far I’ve spent about $600 in prepping the land and $1250 in the annual lease paid up front.  This week i hope to install th irrigation system which could be a few thousand more dollars  but I may have found a way to minimize that cost.  I don’t plan on hiring anyone fulltime, just part timers to help weed, prune and harvest.  The average cost per day of temporary help is $15 per day.

This is still an unknown but I’ll cover this every step of the way, stay tuned!  And in the near future I may be interested in taking on an investor for a bigger plantation so if interested let me know.