Hassan Midiv
Up until 15 years ago, Hassan Haji Nejad, also known as Hassan Midiv, had a small corner store before he became a farmer. He is an easygoing farmer and prefers not to work...
Hassan Midiv Biography
Up until 15 years ago, Hassan Haji Nejad, also known as Hassan Midiv, had a small corner store before he became a farmer. He is an easygoing farmer and prefers not to work under the harsh sun in the height of the afternoon sun. However, this does not jeopardize his work. He chooses to work smart, ensuring that his efforts are are completed with great effort and good quality. For example, he does not use any form of chemical fertilizer or pesticides in his saffron farm, despite the fact that it is easier and cheaper to use chemical fertilizer. Also, chemical fertilizer is less heavy and easier to spread as opposed to the efforts that must be taken to carry animal manure to the farm. Regardless, Hassan Haji Nejad insists to use organic-based animal manure in his saffron farm to ensure the high quality his products yield.
Hassan Haji Nejad is also known as Hassan Midiv, because his father’s name was Mehdi and this name indicated he is the son of Mehdi. Hassan himself has three sons and one daughter. One of his sons is married.
Hassan Haji Nejad owns a donkey as his workhorse, but when the time a bull is needed for harder more laborious work, he borrows a bull from his friend Haji Seei. Hassan also raises four sheep and a few chickens, as meat supply for his family. Although it is much cheaper and easier to buy vegetables, such as potato, tomato, onion from the bazaar, Hassan always felt the quality of the vegetables from the bazaar could never be as good as those he could grow at home. He insists to grow his own. Saffron is the only cash crop for Hassan, because he totally relies on the income that he makes from saffron. The rest of his farm products are solely for the supply of the family.
Hassan hopes to earn more money in order to go on a pilgrimage, as well as sightseeing around Iran.
First Encounter with Hassan Midiv
Hassan has reaped some alfalfa from his fields and feeds his sheep with it. Growing alfalfa is completely the opposite of growing saffron. In the summer months, the plant requires a lot of irrigation. By making more profits on saffron sales, Hassan Midiv can grow less alfalfa.
This dry and empty looking land appears as a section of a desert, but this is what a saffron farm looks like in the summertime. The saffron is now in its hibernation. How wonderful is it that a saffron farmer does not need to work under the summer heat when the temperature is hot and water supply is at its lowest? The saffron plants wake up from their hibernation in the cooler months with the natural rainfall as their wakeup call. Here Hassan is busy spreading the organic animal manure (cow manure) on his farm.
It is saffron season and Ali, the great son of Hassan Midiou, comes with his wife to help his father. He is the eldest son of Hassan who is married and now has a child, who is the only grandson of Hassan. Ali has a motorcycle repair shop and loves to assemble old engines.
Here, Hassan’s wife is collecting potatoes from their farm. She and Hassan are companions in all fields of life. She helps him with all his farm work and also does some trading in her spare time. Potato planting requires a lot of fertilizer. In fact,the more fertilizer you use, the bigger they grow. Hassan’s potatoes are of medium size and not as large as others, but are much more rich in flavor and healthier.
Keshmoon is an online platform where saffron farmers working in Qaenat (South Khorasan) have the opportunity to market their saffron for consumers around the world to buy directly from their farms. On our website, you can find stories of the saffron farmers and become acquainted with the details of their personal lives as well as the various stages of farming. Through Keshmoon, you can choose your farmer and buy saffron directly from them.
(Saffron Harvesting and Meeting Farmers) Tour
In 2017, Keshmoon hosted a three-day tour to Qaenat to meet the farmers involved in our work and to witness firsthand the harvesting and drying of saffron. Over this one year, there were many people who were just getting familiar with our organization and this provided them with the perfect opportunity to experience our work personally.
This is why we have decided that this year during the harvesting season of saffron, which falls in November, we will hold a saffron tour and travel to the Qaen villages.
This trip will be held in cooperation with the Sepehr Cultural Development Foundation. The Sepehr Cultural Development is a fully-fledged organization that works to empower members of local communities and villages in the Qaen region. Since many of the villages we work in are involved with this organization, we decided to collaborate with this group for the tour.
Information regarding Tour
Tour Location: South Khorasan Province, Qaen City, Tajen Village.
Date of Departure: 17:00, Monday 29th of October 2018, From South Tehran Terminal.
Return Date: 17:00, Thursday 1st of November 2018, Qaen Terminal.
The degree of Difficulty of Trip: Medium.
Capacity: Limited.
Travel Cost: 540 USD (includes round trip from Tehran)
Registration Method: Contact Number: +989157409204 (every day from 11:00 to 13:00 and also from 19:00 to 21:00)
Registration Deadline: Thursday 25th of October 2018
Necessary Supplies: ID cards, personal medications, warm clothes, comfortable shoes, sunscreen, hats, and sunglasses.
Tour Program: attend a saffron farm and engage in the harvesting of saffron, pick saffron flowers with the farmer and extract saffron from the flowers with the farmers themselves, stay in rural homes with locals, eat local cuisine, visit Tajen village, see live folk music
Reviews on Saffron Harvesting Tour from 2016
During the Saffron Harvest season of 2016, we hosted the first guests to Keshmoon farms. Below you will find the reviews of two foreigners who visited our farm to get a better understanding of the experience on our tour.
Rachel, Iranian-French Tourist
I traveled to Qaen from 28th to 29th October 2016 at the harvesting season. I came to write a photo article about Keshmoon and the work of saffron smallholder farmers of Qaen working biologically, but I left with much more.
I lived two extraordinary days with Mo’s family, who opened their doors, their heart and who offered us their trust.
At sunrise, we participated with them in saffron harvest, in a climate of peace and harmony I never experienced.
I left with beautiful pictures but above all with friends, a new family...
Betty, French Tourist
Unique and very interesting experience in the land of saffron.
First, meeting people of a very great kindness: the welcome of Mo's family really warms our hearts.
We discovered a new world, made of work and simplicity, within a beautiful nature. All generations are united in the effort to harvest this red gold! What hard work to produce this spice with perfume like no other in the world! A unique experience for me that left me the will to better know this region and the people who live there.
ارسال پیام به Hassan Midiv
به منظور ثبت پیام برای کشاورز، ابتدا وارد سایت شوید؛ در صورتی که عضویت ندارید، ابتدا در سایت عضو شوید.
ورود به سایت عضویت در سایت
اولین نفری باشید که با Hassan Midiv آشنا می شود، از او خرید می کند و نظرش را درباره زعفرانش می نویسد!