A general view shows salt evaporation ponds in Anfeh, northern Lebanon August 12, 2022. REUTERS / Issam Abdallah
A general view shows salt evaporation ponds in Anfeh, northern Lebanon August 12, 2022. REUTERS / Issam Abdallah
In northern Lebanon, salt farmer Imad Malek is one of the few salt producers in the country fighting the extinction of his craft.
In northern Lebanon, salt farmer Imad Malek is one of the few salt producers in the country fighting the extinction of his craft.
'Salt production back in the days used to benefit many families. Local production used to cover national needs and get exported outside Lebanon in the seventies and eighties when the salt production era was at its best. In the nineties the Lebanese state started importing salt and lifted customs fees, so imported salt was cheaper than locally produced salt,” Mr Malek says.
'Salt production back in the days used to benefit many families. Local production used to cover national needs and get exported outside Lebanon in the seventies and eighties when the salt production era was at its best. In the nineties the Lebanese state started importing salt and lifted customs fees, so imported salt was cheaper than locally produced salt,” Mr Malek says.
Many centuries-old salt evaporation ponds from which generations made their living have now been abandoned and barely serve as a tourist attraction.
Many centuries-old salt evaporation ponds from which generations made their living have now been abandoned and barely serve as a tourist attraction.
The few still practising this ancient trade have re-introduced old eco-friendly traditional salt production techniques.
The few still practising this ancient trade have re-introduced old eco-friendly traditional salt production techniques.
'In the last two years we re-installed the water pumping windmill and placed a solar system. We are now 100 per cent eco-friendly in all of the salt production processes, we do not need fuel, gas or electricity,' Mr Malek says.
'In the last two years we re-installed the water pumping windmill and placed a solar system. We are now 100 per cent eco-friendly in all of the salt production processes, we do not need fuel, gas or electricity,' Mr Malek says.
The salt-farming process starts in June and lasts until September and almost 300 tonnes of salt are produced from Mr Malek’s ponds every year. It takes 20 days for water to evaporate from ponds, leaving crystal coarse salt that is gathered and packed into bags for sale.
The salt-farming process starts in June and lasts until September and almost 300 tonnes of salt are produced from Mr Malek’s ponds every year. It takes 20 days for water to evaporate from ponds, leaving crystal coarse salt that is gathered and packed into bags for sale.
Locally produced coarse salt is mainly used for pickled products and in cheese factories. It can also be used as table salt, but salt farmers face huge competition from cheaper imported products. Locally produced salt costs about $120 per tonne, while imported salt is about $30, Mr Malek says.
Locally produced coarse salt is mainly used for pickled products and in cheese factories. It can also be used as table salt, but salt farmers face huge competition from cheaper imported products. Locally produced salt costs about $120 per tonne, while imported salt is about $30, Mr Malek says.

MENA

Salt farmers in Lebanon tackle the country's crises the old-fashioned way - in pictures

Lebanon's few remaining producers have reintroduced traditional, eco-friendly techniques at evaporation ponds

The National

August 25, 2022

  • English
  • Arabic

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While you're here
ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

The more serious side of specialty coffee

While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.

The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.

Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”

One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.

Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms. 

South Africa's T20 squad

Duminy (c), Behardien, Dala, De Villiers, Hendricks, Jonker, Klaasen (wkt), Miller, Morris, Paterson, Phangiso, Phehlukwayo, Shamsi, Smuts.

Temple numbers

Expected completion: 2022

Height: 24 meters

Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people

Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people

First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time

First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres  

Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres

Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor 

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Gothia Cup 2025

4,872 matches 

1,942 teams

116 pitches

76 nations

26 UAE teams

15 Lebanese teams

2 Kuwaiti teams

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

Power: 819hp

Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm

Price: From Dh1,700,000

Available: Now

Where to buy art books in the UAE

There are a number of speciality art bookshops in the UAE.

In Dubai, The Lighthouse at Dubai Design District has a wonderfully curated selection of art and design books. Alserkal Avenue runs a pop-up shop at their A4 space, and host the art-book fair Fully Booked during Art Week in March. The Third Line, also in Alserkal Avenue, has a strong book-publishing arm and sells copies at its gallery. Kinokuniya, at Dubai Mall, has some good offerings within its broad selection, and you never know what you will find at the House of Prose in Jumeirah. Finally, all of Gulf Photo Plus’s photo books are available for sale at their show. 

In Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi has a beautiful selection of catalogues and art books, and Magrudy’s – across the Emirates, but particularly at their NYU Abu Dhabi site – has a great selection in art, fiction and cultural theory.

In Sharjah, the Sharjah Art Museum sells catalogues and art books at its museum shop, and the Sharjah Art Foundation has a bookshop that offers reads on art, theory and cultural history.

Kareem Shaheen on Canada
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
LA LIGA FIXTURES

Friday (UAE kick-off times)

Levante v Real Mallorca (12am)

Leganes v Barcelona (4pm)

Real Betis v Valencia (7pm)

Granada v Atletico Madrid (9.30pm)

Sunday

Real Madrid v Real Sociedad (12am)

Espanyol v Getafe (3pm)

Osasuna v Athletic Bilbao (5pm)

Eibar v Alaves (7pm)

Villarreal v Celta Vigo (9.30pm)

Monday

Real Valladolid v Sevilla (12am)

 

More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
While you're here
While you're here
In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

The figures behind the event

1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew

2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show

3) 1,000 social distancing stickers

4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue

Updated: August 25, 2022, 7:51 AM`
PhotographyLebanon

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