Essential Work in Essential Oil Production: Ravintsara Distillation in Madagascar During the <scp>COVID</scp> ‐19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT During the COVID‐19 pandemic, global demand for ravintsara ( Cinnamomum camphora ct 1,8‐cineole), an introduced yet naturalized medicinal tree, surged due to its reputed antiviral properties. In Madagascar's highlands, informal distillers ( mpitanika ravina ) became essential workers, producing ravintsara essential oil around the clock with leaves supplied by equally informal collectors to meet urgent export orders. The labor of harvesting and distilling, or transforming leaves into a liquid therapeutic commodity for export, constitutes a critical but largely obscured node in the essential oil value chain. This article argues that the designation of essential extends beyond the product itself to encompass the work sustaining its production for alternative health markets during the pandemic. Drawing on multi‐sited ethnographic research in Madagascar's Central Highlands, I examine how Malagasy workers ensured the continued production of plant‐derived anti‐virals under volatile market conditions, precarious labor arrangements, and pandemic restrictions. Rather than focusing on smallholder farmers or industrial exporters, this study centers on those situated between cultivation and export, specifically leaf collectors, still builders, distillery owners, and distillation workers. By attending to essential oil extraction, and the labor, infrastructures, and technical expertise it requires, the article demonstrates how informal workers sustain global supply chains, adapt to public health crises, and shape the production and circulation of alternative medicine commodities.