Vanilla is a genus of orchid not a bean, Donald.
To be able to self pollinate the flowers, you would first need to be growing
the plants in full bloom!!! BRBR

Actually I believe the vanilla fruit is considered a pod, but it is often
called a bean. It is quite different from other orchid fruits, most of which
are capsules. One reason vanilla is so expensive is that the vanilla pods
require extensive preparation before the vanilla essence is extracted.

The word "vanilla" comes from another word meaning "little bean",

Not true. It comes from the Spanish word vainilla, meaning a little sheath. It
is from the same Latin root as vagina.
Another reason why vanilla is so labor intensive, & hence expensive, is that
there is no natural pollinator in the parts of the world where it is grown
today. It has to be hand pollinated. Since the flowers only last a day or so,
the workers have to go through the plantation on a daily basis to pollinate
them.
Another problem is that there are several viruses which attack vanilla vines.
The person who develops a self-pollinating, disease-resistant vanilla cultivar
will definitely have it made.

Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)