Women play a critical role in saffron harvesting; all family members take part in picking up the delicate saffron flowers before sunrise, during the cold days of November. Then they are mostly in charge of processing flowers, which involves taking the red and yellow stigmas out of the flower and then drying them. Saffron, this treasures spice, is considered as the wealth of family and mostly women are in charge of storing them. Saffron is transported to the marketplace to be sold to cover family expenses over the year or in special occasions, such as weddings.

In this article we would like to share with you the story of the first woman selling her saffron in our Keshmoon platform. She is our most favorite farmer until now.

Naneye Reza is the first female farmer who joined Keshmoon Platform. This elderly farmer lives in the outskirts of Qaen city, in a village called Tajen. She has no idea how old is she, as she does not know which year she was born in. Her husband passed away years ago and left her with one son and six daughters. Of her seven children, one son and one daughter are still unmarried and are living with Granny Reza. Of the remainder of her children who have married, one is a construction worker in Mashhad ( the second largest city in Iran, which is 400 Km far from Tajen) and the rest live in Feizabad (a town around) and are working as farmers.

In this photo, this energetic woman is standing in front of her home. She has a saffron land, half of which belongs to her and the other half which belongs to her sister who lives in a city nearby called Gonabad. She does not use chemicals, but rather uses the sustainable method of animal manure on her farm. However, due to the fact that she does not own any animals herself, she has to buy animal manure from Gonabad, which is about 80 km away from where she lives.

Because she lives alone, Naneye Reza sometimes receives assistance from her neighbors in irrigating her land. However, when it comes to the heavy job of saffron harvesting, her children give her a hand. Inside her home is a traditional oven that her daughters bake bread in for her occasionally.

Granny Reza complains that despite the fact that she is the mother of a martyr from the Iran-Iraq war ( families of martyrs often receive financial assistance from the government, as they are honored within society), she still has no central gas supply in her home and is forced to use a gas capsule for all her cooking needs and use an oil heater to keep herself warm during the cold winter months.

In honor of the International Day of Rural Women, we would like to highlight Granny Reza and her accomplishments. She is a great example of women in farming, who have continued to contribute sustainably to the field of farming even despite of obstacles.