Afghan raisin houses get facelift
DHI SABZ (Kabul): Afghan farmer Abdul Jalil Gulzar sits by a pile of raisins in the squat mud brick shed where generations of his family have dried their grape harvest.
Such traditional huts have long been used to hang and desiccate the fruit, but now the keshmesh khanas, the Dari term for raisin houses, are getting a facelift as Afghanistan looks to improve its yield.
The country once accounted for 10 per cent of the global raisin market, but nearly four decades of conflict have driven its share of the world market down to just two to three per cent.
In a bid to boost productivity and earnings, the agriculture ministry and aid groups are financing new modern khanas.
“The new raisin house has more capacity and it has a single purpose (to dry the grapes),” Gulzar said inside the rustic khana built by his father here.
The Afghan agricultural sector is the main driver of the economy and biggest employer.
Afghanistan boasts nearly 100 varieties of grapes which are grown across the country and celebrated in popular poetry, nursery rhymes and proverbs.
In the absence of a wine-making industry, which is prohibited in the Islamic country, many farmers turn their grapes into raisins, which are easier to conserve and bring a higher price.
Fresh grapes sell for an average of 300 afghanis (RM17.60) for 7kg, while 1kg of raisins fetches more than 1,000 afghanis.
Though the profits are nothing compared to the amount farmers can reap from what is now Afghanistan’s biggest export: opium, the lifeblood of the Taliban insurgency and an economic lynchpin for many Afghans.
“Basically these new keshmesh khanas have three effects: they remove fresh grapes from the market and improve the quality of the process and product, and support prices,” said Abdul Samad Kamawi, national horticulture coordinator at the agriculture ministry.
But even with the improvements, Afghanistan’s rudimentary growing and processing methods means accessing export markets beyond Pakistan, India, the UAE and Russia is difficult.
“Despite their know-how, Afghans are still struggling to meet European criteria which are increasingly stringent,” a Western importer said.
The drying process in the new brick and cement khanas is quicker and cleaner, but Gulzar is stubbornly keeping his earthen raisin house where his family often seeks shelter during the hot summer months.
“They are cooler,” he said, sitting happily on the dirt floor surrounded by hay and bunches of garlic. AFP