This man used to be a big-time Opium poppy growing farmer in Pushtoon-Zarghoon district of Herat. Then he shifted to growing saffron, and has since devoted himself to helping other farmers do the same.
For his services, he has been officially dubbed “Baba-i Za’faran” or “Father of Saffron” by the Ministery of Agriculture – he even showed me the certificate.
Besides showing Afghans’ obsession with bestowing the honorific “Daddy of this or that” on old (or dead) men, in this case, the deserved title is a fitting tribute to a wise old man.
Safrangُ
Afghanistan and the Inexorable March of History
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From Afghanistan with Love
More Photos
September 24, 2007 at 8:42 pm |
[...] posts a neat vignette of an Afghan farmer who successfully switched from farming opium to farming saffron. That is how [...]
October 14, 2007 at 5:47 pm |
[...] writes about a man who used to be a opium poppy growing farmer and then he shifted to grow saffron.The [...]
October 15, 2007 at 3:15 am |
[...] blaogy Safrang dia mitantara [Anglisy] ny tantaran’i « I Baban’i-Safrana » [Baba-i Za’faran] izay mpamboly [...]
October 17, 2007 at 11:57 am |
Been a while since a post. Hope all is well. And, of course, Eid Mubarak…q
October 24, 2007 at 2:23 am |
Would someone be kind enough to translate into Pashtu – With love from Afghanistan – it is for a piece of art that I am doing for school.
Thanks
August 6, 2009 at 6:56 am |
@ Teresa
I would not advise – at all – that you use this book ‘for a school project’ as an adult book generally and – also – has explicit erotic poems between the two virtual ‘lovers’.
The true storey of what happens under ’sharia’ that Apostates of Islam have no way out – except of course on internet writing poetry or in other writing vent their true feelings – about Islam’s oppression.
Success with your project
Yoka van den Berg
One of the two poets in ‘From Afghanistan with Love’
But if you want to ask me questions, please do:
yoka.vandenberg@gmail.com