Eight Palestinian farmers work at Abu Jriban’s field in the border village of Wadi al-Salqa to the east of Deir al-Balah city in the Gaza Strip collecting green almonds in one of the last and most famous almond fields in the area.
Elderly Palestinian Ameen Abu Jriban 74 invites the visitors of the garden to taste almonds and to take some with them illustrating his hospitality which he began 45 years ago to the extent that the field was named after him.
He told the PIC reporter “You could pick up almonds from this tree and avoid that tree because the other one is bitter. This season which started two weeks ago and will last for two more weeks brought some large quantities of almonds.”
The price of one kilo of green almond this year stands at five Israeli Shekels (1.37 USD). The time of enjoying almonds seems limited as interested people “have only two weeks left before almonds completely disappear from Gaza’s markets.”
The residents of Wadi al-Salqa village which was famous for importing almonds to the West Bank have replaced their almonds with vegetables due to the fact that almonds are sold at cheap prices despite the fact that almonds don’t need any special care and that Gaza’s environment is suitable for planting them.
Special rituals
During the first morning break at 09:00 AM workers at the field share tea which one of the workers made on fire. Workers shake their heads in admiration of its taste which is mixed with the smell of fire as they say.
One of the workers told the PIC reporter that the daily working shift starts at 07:00 in the morning and continues until 11:00 at noon during which they “pick up almonds manually collecting them in big plastic bags and preparing them for wholesale merchants.”
He pointed out that workers use a ladder to climb high trees while most almonds could be picked up directly while standing as almond trees are not high and easily picked.”
An almond tree is rain-fed and produces tens of kilograms of almonds per year and can live a long time. Almond trees do not need fertilization and care yet they are at risk of extinction in Gaza.
