The Damascene rose is no longer just a type of cultivation rooted in Mahalibeh Castle village , Qardaha countryside , but rather a friend of indigenous people who breed it.
While the farmer, Nadim Hilala, pick up petals and immediately put in the harvest basket to preserve its nectar and oil, he looks forward the moment when this rose cultivation spread more in his village as the damages caused by the forest fire the area witnessed in 2020 are diminishing taking with it their source of livelihoods such as olives, fruit trees.
Hilala, 40 years’ experience in the cultivation of all rose species ,10 years breeding Damascene Rose, dealing with them as if they were members of his family, bitterly says “forest fires left nothing to be our livelihoods as it killed even our livestock, bees, trees”. “But Damascene Rose is a successful choice to compensate, as we have the suitable environment, the appropriate soil , and the plant gives to everyone who loves it”, he added.
The man in his sixties realizes that the production of new plants gives nothing but little for the first season, but he is certain that the production will double times through the years. He recommended to plant and invest in them as a source of abundant income.
Helalah, one of hundred farmers in his village who received one hundred free seedlings, a harvest basket, seeds and drip irrigation network to support them, provided by the Syrian Trust for Development in cooperation with its partners in the Directorate of Agriculture, the Union of Peasants and The Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD).
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)