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.