EGYPT STUDY TOUR - IFEAT

Leaving behind the small-scale farmers and co-op-owned distillation facilities, the programme shiftedto Fridal's substantial essential oil and concrete production facility and existing herb processing plant.Tagetes was 'in the pot' and freshly harvested curly parsley was being processed, from cleaningthrough to drying and packing. A busy factory with plenty on-going all at once.Back in Cairo, we enjoyed some of the delights of the other side of the tour – all so well organised intothe programme…namely the famed Rubbayyat Restaurant in the restored and very impressive andextravagant Mena Palace near the Giza Pyramids. An evening of dinner, dancers, crooners, extremelyenergetic traditional Egyptian music and the inevitable Whirling Dervish. I don't know how thesepeople do this. I would be ill! All of this was happily washed down with some more wonderfulRubbayyat Red! An Egyptian secret.Day Three saw us in Kalioubeyya to visit the fields and factory of Hashem Brothers. The HashemBrothers family partnership was established in 1974, with the essential oils and aromatic productsdivision being formed in 1994. Today, Hashem Brothers is one of the foremost producers of oils andaromatics products in Egypt with a range of nearly 50 quality essential oils, concretes and absolutes.Before the tour, for most of us 'Jasmine and Egypt' weresynonymous. After the trip, we will never forget jasmine andEgypt! It was a special privilege to be present during jasmineharvest and interacting with the jasmine pickers at HashemBrothers. Happy pickers enjoying their task and our company.There was a great deal of ululating going on which reallyimpressed Yasuko Inoue who tried to do it, veryunsuccessfully despite the women's enthusiasticencouragement and enjoyment at her efforts. Ululating isundoubtedly difficult or even impossible for a Japanesespeaker. Much fun was had at Yasuko's expense, although shetook to picking jasmine blossoms rather well.Jasmine – the scent of Egypt;Yasuko Inoue picking jasmineIt was a wonderful experience to see the whole process from picking, pickers weighing in, with theirbrimming baskets and the production processes of solvent extraction, concretes and absolutes… not tomention the great lunch and fine Egyptian food.By now, we were beginning to take to this Egyptian food and we had another slap-up meal at thepopular Abu El Sid Restaurant in Cairo in the evening! I can assure you all that we were earning oursuppers despite what you may be thinking. It's a tremendous strain to put away so much good food.Day Four, Wednesday, was yet another interesting day with avisit to Machalico at Gharbeyya, about 100 kms north of Cairoand the agricultural sites at Bassioune and the MachalicoFactory at Mehallah, located alongside the agricultural site.Baskets brimming withjasmine flowersMachalico has an advantage with 60% of its raw materialcomes from its own agricultural sites, producing concretes andabsolutes of a wide range of flowers including jasmine,marigold, carnation, bitter orange, geranium and cassia, amongothers. Agreements with small geranium producers in Beni-Suef provide for approximately 20 tons of geranium oil peryear.177