The plantation in Egypt, second visit, January 2009.

Foal, half breed Arabian horse, running back to the stable along the palm and mandarine trees.

Morning

It is 8:30 AM, I just got up. My host went to the morning market and the house is empty. The maid will arrive soon.

The villa is very quiet and it is cold inside, 14 degrees Celsius. Outside it is getting warmer, now about 16 degrees Celsius. Should get to 21 or 23 degrees Celsius today. This is winter in Egypt, a bit cool, for only 4-6 weeks of the year. With only a few electric heaters to warm the house.

I open the doors to the terrace on the East side, the morning sun comes in, still too cold to sit outside. There are many small birds in the garden, chirping at a pleasant volume. Every few seconds there is the sound of one of many roosters from the nearby barn, their voices carry very far. The dogs also bark at regular intervals. They are watch dogs and are suppose to warn for visitors, good and bad ones. Barking, not biting, is their job.

Wearing earplugs at night seems odd in a rural area, but the roosters and dogs would keep me awake at night. Also, the 5 AM prayers from the mosque loudspeakers, even at a km distance, are still very loud. All people here go to the mosque on Friday, some do it every morning at 5 or 7:30 AM. Rural Egypt is a traditional area. Most of the men still wear a distash, a traditional Arab robe.

I switch on the electric heater and have a simple breakfast, orange juice from the garden, mint thee from the garden, cafe au lait with fresh milk from the cows from the farm, and some feta cheese and pita, not yet home made and still an outstanding project.

World Economy

My thoughts drift off to the world news by reading “The Economist” which feels totally out of place being on a tropical plantation. Some thoughts, see: World Economy

Here things are dominated by the seasons as it affects the vegetables and fruits you can grow, the growing up of cattle and the availability of water.

Rural Egypt in the Nile delta

The Nile delta in Egypt is a different world, a rural world of farming. The entire area is basically run like a green grocer area, very labour intensive, very high yield, at least two crops a year. The area is some 200 km long and 200 km wide at the widest point along the sea. It has a similar size as the Netherlands but with 80 million people instead of 17 million is is crowded.

There is a lot of building activity, money coming in from migrants working in the oil rich states in the Middle East and in the Western countries. This influx of foreign money pushes up the farming land prices to astronomical levels, some Euro 10000 per hectare. However, once you have it, with two crops a year, the harvests are always very good. Our chief farm hand earns around 1000 dollars a year which is considered a high wage but he would never be able to buy land. For this you need a money making “business”.

The farmers use a very labour intensive method of mixing soil with manure, taking the soil to stables in the village, and taking back the mix to the land. Many houses have cattle on the ground floor and living quarters on the upper floors, similar to Southern Europe some 50 years ago.

The soil is dark, but not as dark as terra preta from the Amazon but may resemble it. Similarly, manure, ash, straw and soil are mixed to get a fertile soil, presumably helped by bacteria. This is the secret of terra preta. Carbon combines with bacteria turn the poor, red soil into a very fertile soil.

In the Nile river delta the soil is dominated by silt but after building the Aswan dam, it is not replenished any more by the yearly floods. They now rely on artificial fertiliser.

Worrying is the water situation, some 70% is now held back at the Aswan Dam and the current flow is too little. Some 80 million people depend on Nile water as it almost never rains. When it does, the minor roads which have not been paved, turn muddy and it is impossible to travel for a few days.

Salt concentration in the soil is increasing, with too little water to flush it out. Pesticides are also used on a grand scale. But it does improve crops.

Not sure what will happen, this land has been used for 4500 years with the same method, Nile water irrigation. Difference is now that they use artificial fertiliser, supplied at low costs by the state, instead of a natural flood..

The rural society seems disturbed we so much easy money flowing in. Like anywhere else in the third world, standard of living is increasing rapidly and the number of middle class people making at least 10 dollars a day is rising. This, we feel, is good. They may have to turn to bigger farms and less labour intensive methods.

The rising standard of living comes at a cost, every luxurious item is expensive; e.g. cars, schools and even medical treatment. If you get sick, the doctor in the state hospital, a visit is free of charge, will suggest you to comes to his private practice. Now you start paying for the any treatment which is costly.

Many landowning farmers are selling pieces of land as they want to keep enjoying the rising standard of living, also encouraged by competition form those working in the Middle East and the West: A new house, cars, computers, appliances and schooling for their kids. They may be poor within a generation, only those who get a steady, middle class job will be able to keep up such a standard of living as the income from the land is too low.

Being a former socialistic country under Nasser, it has many subsidies to help poor people. Every farmers gets a limited amount of subsidized fertiliser and they can also get loans at a low interest rate.

Corruption

Egypt is full of corruption, paying for a building permit is standard, it indirectly feeds into the so-called state budget, being able to cut down on wages for civil servants.

Those in control of the state agricultural banks, typically sons of well-off, educated farmers, invent ways of pirating on this. Subsidized small loans to poor farmers carry an interest rate of only 2-4%. Rich farmers get an interest rate of 8-10% on deposits. By taking out loans at 2-4% and depositing it at the high interest rate, they make money. Some of the subsidized fertiliser is kept separate and sold at market prices.

Are these modern times practises with too much money available? Rich farmers in the past did not have money either, just the land, and were very carefule with their possessions.

The credit crunch has hit this area as well as less money is send home. Land prices are dropping to 50% but the cost of luxurious items remain high until now.

Epilogue

It is 3 PM now, I move to the gazebo next to the pool, my second session on this piece, did some 6 km of running in the fields. Trails are poor, very uneven and dusty with some manure you can't avoid, but very scenic. You have to try to stay clear of the dust of passing tractors and the smoke of local fires. The little trails are the best, not the main trails with the regular donkeys, cows, sheep and tractors passing.

The mosque announces the 3 PM prayers. I was complaining to my host on the volume of their big amplifier, especially at 5 AM. “Well”, he said, “the old one broke down, and I gave them a new one”.

The horse trainer is coming soon for my classes on one of the two half breed Arabian horses. They look nervous, but it really displays character, agility and power. They always seem ready to take off, and they like it, like huskies in the Arctic. Run, run, and run. I better be careful.

I am about to give a present to my host, a light-weight Chinese motorcycle, inexpensive and very popular. Handy on the dirt roads in the fields, more comfortable than a tractor as a tractor has no suspension.