Walk through the lanes of the villages of Al Jabal Al Akhdhar and the air is filled with fragrance of fresh roses and rose water being distilled with a tinge of smoke from the traditional factories.
The farmers and workers start very early in the morning to pick the flowers just as the sun rises and wrap up by 9 am and then again around 4.30 pm till 6 pm.
“This is when the roses are fresh and cold,” explains Salim bin Saif al Tobi, who is now managing the family farm and a rosewater factory in Saiq village.
“I used to come to the farm with my grandfather,” he added. Laith al Tobi is his nephew and comes to the farm to pick roses, which he has been doing for 15 years.
“I used to accompany my father everyday and now it is a habit,” Laith explained.
How many kilos of roses are collected each day?
Salim said that it is not just one farm, “We collect from all small and large farms. So maybe around five kilos. And then they are taken immediately to the factory.”
The rose water is in big demand, and according to Salim they deal directly with shops and companies.
But this is not all, the rose water industry is taking a new direction, and that is the youth is connecting the rose water industry with tourism.
Qais al Amri also works at his family farm in Al Ayn village.
Qais is also a photographer, and on his Instagram account the dominant subject is rose.
By 7 am the tourists who are keen photographers are on the location for pictures. Qais and Laith also collaborate when there is an overflow of visitors.
“At times our guests stay for eight days and other times they might stay even more than three weeks,” noted Qais.
They have come up with activities for the visitors too.
“We take them on trekking through the farms, but they can also work in the farms by picking roses,” said Laith.
“It is easy to pick them, all you have to do is place your index and middle finger on the middle of the rose and with your thumb lift it upward,” Laith explains.
Can gloves be used?
Salim explained, “You will crush the rose and you might not get the whole flower.”
For now the bushes are full of rose buds indicating the continuation of rose harvest season beyond April and maybe into early May. And so this could be the ideal experience for Eid holidays.
Photos : Shamsa al Harthi
@lakshmioman
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