almond

Almond the most popular and healthy dry fruit

almonds are almost two types

[1] soft almond
[2] hard almond

     soft almonds are crashed by using hand or teeth's but the hard almonds  are crashed by using
hummer or almost using stone.....

almond

Most papular dry fruits of ghizer

Walnuts: Walnuts are found a huge quantity every year. It is also valuable cash crops. There are two types of walnuts "soft and hard"  and can be stored for long time. Walnuts are specially used for making kilao.
Apricot kernels Apricot kernels are found in all tehsils in a huge quantity. There are two types of apricot kernels sweet and bitter. The sweet kernels are used for making kilao and bitter for oil extraction.
Dried Apricot  The dried apricot are of two colors red and white and some are also mixed. Dried apricots are the dry form of apricots and are mostly used in winters.
Kilao  Kilao is the most famous product of Punial. It is made in the tehsil Punial of District Ghizer as well as Gilgit Baltistan. There are two kinds of kilaofirst one is almond kernels and second one is apricot kernels. The ingredients of kilao are "grape juice+almond kernels and grape juice+apricot kernels"

Sher Gazi, General Manager, Mountain Fruits (Pvt.) Ltd, Pakistan

 

Introduction

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Sher Ghazi, CEO of Mountain Fruits Ltd, will be visiting the UK during Fairtrade Fortnight 2007 to share his experiences of Fairtrade and how it works for fruit and nut growing communities in Pakistan. Sher Ghazi was born in the town of Hunza in the Karakoram Mountains of Northern Pakistan. After graduating in food technology he joined the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) in 1990 as a Project Forester, later becoming a Project Agriculturist. AKRSP is a charitable foundation which works to improve the livelihoods of people living in the higher areas of the Karakoram Mountains in the north of Pakistan. As an orchard owner and fruit grower himself, Sher wanted to find a way to improve the livelihoods of poor farming communities in the mountains. He decided to research the potential for the production and marketing of high quality dried apricots and other fruits to take advantage of the abundant fruit grown in the area. AKRSP accepted Sher’s proposal to train farmers in the production of high quality fruit for processing, which in turn led to the establishment of the Mountain Fruits company.

Background

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Apricots are grown at between 4,500 and 9,500 feet on the Karakoram Mountains which merge with the Himalayas and border both India and China. In this pure highland environment, the apricots grow during long summer days on soil fed by glacial melt water, creating beautifully flavoured fruit. The farming communities in the area are extremely poor, living in harsh environmental conditions where summertemperatures can soar to 47°C and winter temperatures plunge to minus 12°C. Farming in these extremely arid conditions is made possible only with irrigation that required digging 190k of water channels through mountain rock.

Farmers here produce a variety of fruit including apricots, apples, cherries, mulberries and peaches. They also grow nuts including almonds, walnuts and pine nuts. But lack of infrastructure means the farmers cannot take full advantage of this abundance. The Karakoram Highway links northern mountain towns such as Gilgit with the main domestic market 600k away in Pakistan and also with China. But the unreliable condition of the road and the highly perishable nature of the fruit combined with the lack of cold storage and processing facilities mean that most of the fruit is either left to rot at the farm before it can be consumed or dried as a low quality fruit for sale at poor local markets.

 

Development of Mountain Fruits Ltd

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In 1997, UK based Tropical Wholefoods began working with Sher on the Dry Fruit Project for which he had secured AKRSP funding, providing invaluable technical assistance and support.

In March 2000, a training project was initiated by the AKRSP in order to replace the traditional but unhygienic method of sun-drying the fruit to an internationally accepted standard. In 2004 the AKRSP Dry Fruit Project was registered as a dried fruit export business and changed its name to Mountain Fruits (pvt) Ltd. The company now trains farmers in the processing of fresh fruit into value-added dried commodities that are bought and marketed by Tropical Wholefoods and other importers. The modern processing methods create a product of international marketable standard, with greatly improved stability and food-safety compared with traditional drying techniques.

Mountain Fruits now works with over 2,000 families producing a variety of dried fruits and nuts. Over 100 female workers are employed in the factory – this is the only place in the northern area where women can work, due to cultural barriers. They are engaged in fruit processing and packing and they receive the national minimum wage, which is a rarity for women workers in this part of the country. Mountain Fruits also train farmers in improved agricultural techniques such as organic farming and the use of appropriate technology for cracking the nuts. Along with the installation of a solar drying system, these developments enable growers to increase production on the scarce land resources available to them. Because the farmers grow dozens of fruit varieties of varying quality, the company has developed a system of training village representatives as Master Trainers to promote the grafting of improved fruit tree varieties. Around 100 women have now been trained as Master Trainers. The project aims to expand into finding markets for other agricultural products that the farmers grow such as honey, morel mushroom and buck wheat flour and thereby increase the income of the poor communities from the sales of their higher quality products.

Fairtrade Premium Use

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From the very beginning, Sher knew that adding value to the product was essential to increasing both income and market share and the policy of the company has always been to enter Fairtrade and organic markets. Selling Fairtrade apricots to the UK market means the farmers receive a guaranteed fair and stable price and an additional premium to invest in projects that benefit the farmers, their families and their communities.

The company has set up the Mountain Areas Fruit Farmers Association. Its elected village representatives come together to discuss and decide how to use the Fairtrade Premium. In 2005, the Association received its first small premiums and, in consultation with Mountain Fruits management, selected a number of small projects in different communities:

• Contributing to the construction costs of a joint-funded community school project
  
• Paying for the transport of sand and stones for two community school construction projects
  
• Paying the school fees of some of the poorest children
  
• Construction of a playground for schoolchildren
  
• Construction of a community hall
  
• Construction of a washroom for a community hall
  
• Purchase of a carpet for a community hall
  
• Purchase of sewing machines and cloth for two women's vocational centres
  
• Purchase of more than 300 apricot plants for distribution among farmers
  
• Roofing an exposed water tank
  
• Plans for 2006 include the purchase of an electricity generator for one village and the purchase of fruit trays and fruit drying inputs to distribute among farmers.

Where can I buy Mountain Fruits Dried Apricots?

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Mountain Fruits dried apricot products are available from Tropical Wholefoods, health food shops, Oxfam shops, Traidcraft and Tesco.

Tropical Wholefoods Sun-Dried Apricots, 200g pack
Tropical Wholefoods Organic Apricot & Kernel, 40g snack bar
Traidcraft Dried Apricots, 125g pack
Traidcraft Apricot & Raisin Geobar, 35g snack bar
Tesco Fair Trade Brazil Nuts & Dried Apricots, 175g pack

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Fairtrade Foundation April 2007

Mountain Fruits pvt Ltd

Interview: Sher Ghazi, CEO Mountain Fruits

By Mariya Karimjee 28 August 2009 No Comment

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“God has given us clean, natural protected sites to grow organic foods but, unfortunately, they are being used as battlefields instead of organic fields” – Sher Ghazi

Sher Ghazi, CEO Mountain Fruits

A broken pick-up, a generator, discarded furniture, a computer and a printer from the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, and a modest sum of two million rupees were the only resources that Sher Ghazi possessed when he decided to turn his dream of launching an improved apricot drying project to reality. Today, he is the CEO of Mountain Fruits (Pvt Ltd), the only fruit-production company in Pakistan to sell organic, Fairtrade apricots.
Ghazi worked with the AKRSP for 13 years after graduating in Food Technology from the University of Agriculture in Faisalabad. Today, Mountain Fruits exports organic walnuts, almonds and dried apples to Fairtrade markets in Europe along with the distinctly flavoured Hunza apricots. He dreams of bringing more farmers under the Fairtrade umbrella to aid them in securing international markets and preventing over-payment to agents.
Q: A notable thing about Mountain Fruits is that it is certified by the Fairtrade Labelling Organisations (FLO).  How do you maintain your certification and what problems, if any, does the company face?
A: Fair trade is an ethical business that is aimed at the socio-economic development of small producers and workers. In a Fairtrade certified business, the Fairtrade organisation, farmers and the company itself, agree upon a minimum price, which is always higher when compared to what other companies pay their workers. Only those companies that continually fulfil the required FLO standards are certified. Fair trade gives opportunities to small and marginalised producers to sell their products in an international and high-value market.
Being Fairtrade-certified also means that ILO conventions on child labour, forced labour, bonded labour and other human rights issues are met in addition to the social development agenda for the small farmers. Fairtrade not only ensures a minimum cost, covering the price and providing a sustainable market for the contracted producers, but also pays the farmers back a fair trade premium that is used to cover the socio-economic development of the producers.
Q: You run the first local fruit processing company to hire women.  What prompted that decision, and in which other ways do you empower women at Mountain Fruits?
A: I have been inspired by the mission of His Highness the Aga Khan and the services of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). I wanted to pursue the same philosophy of empowering women in society, and train them in the improved method of drying apricots so that they could increase their earnings. We employ 60 to 100 women in the factory, paying them the minimum wage (Rs 6,000 per month).
A food factory needs technical staff along with the labourers and, often, it is hard to find trained and skilled women. I didn’t want to have the men and women work together in the same area in the culturally restrictive environment that exists in Gilgit. Instead, we selected some educated women and trained them in computers and processing so that they could work as supervisors.
One of these women, Ms Shahina, is currently training in food technology at the Karakoram International University in Gilgit. We are trying to send her to the UK for a short training course in food processing in our partner’s company, where she will mainly learn how to hygienically process the food. I also want her to go to the UK for practical training in further products development. Currently, we do not hire women during winter or during the off-season – but by training Ms Shahina, we can work during the off-season by producing fruit bars and candy, and thus employ women throughout the year.

Fairtrade fruit: Mountain Fruits ensures farmers are not exploited and that they have access to high-value international markets.

Q: Your products are organic, which can be both difficult and expensive to produce. What does it mean to you to have certified, organic produce?
A: Organic certification costs Rs 320,000 per year. This is an international fee and covers the expense of international consultants to do the social auditing of our company. We pay this amount because our company needs to be a transparent and socially audited company.
Personally, I love organic foods because I know the ill effects of agrichemicals on our health. Organic produce has very high value in a developed society; this certificate guarantees that a product with an organically certified logo has no agrichemicals and is 100% free from all preservatives.
Q: The basic structure of Mountain Fruits involves organising small farmers to help increase their income.  How do you select individual farmers? Do you train the farmers as well?
A: Fairtrade is open to everyone without discrimination, but a company must have the ability/expertise to organise small-scale, marginalised and disadvantaged producers looking for guidance. Mountain Fruits is willing to invest time and resources to bring change and development in these farming communities. We want them to have the skills to develop an internationally acceptable product.
At Mountain Fruits, we do not only train the male and female producers but we also distribute the materials farmers require to dry the fruits. Originally they were using pieces of old cloth or stones and mud roofs, which is definitely not hygienic. So, we provide them with wooden trays to dry the fruits so that they may be of export quality, on interest-free credit. We recover the amount later when these farmers sell the dried fruits (the end product) to our company. So far, we have distributed 23,000 fruit drying trays among farmers on credit.
Q: Do you feel that more companies in Pakistan should implement fair trade policies?
A: All Asian Fairtrade producers are members of the Network Asia Producers (NAP), which attempts to promote the sale of Fairtrade products in developed markets of the world. As the Pakistan director for NAP, I have invited companies in Pakistan to register themselves as Fairtrade. Unfortunately, under the current system, industrialists do not have the requisite government support in their facilities; they’re struggling to survive. Fairtrade demands a social agenda for the development of the producers or hired labour. Nobody is ready to do that.
Q: Many have supported the movement to use GM Foods to feed the world. Do you think that arbitrary distinctions such as “Fairtrade” and “organic” make a difference in a country like Pakistan?
A: Well, when you are in trouble, you have to survive even by eating grass. Thank God that today we at least have wheat in the market, regardless of whether it is GM or full of chemicals. Most people have no idea of the pesticide residue we take in each day when we buy fresh vegetables in the market. Unfortunately in Pakistan, we are fighting for our survival. In such conditions, if we do not grow GM foods, we should at least attempt to grow more hybrids with high production potential.
God has given us clean, natural protected sites to grow organic foods but, unfortunately, they are being used as battlefields instead of organic fields. We can earn higher incomes by producing organic rice, cotton, sugar and fruits to sell in the international market.
Q: Do you believe that farmers have a responsibility to produce organic foods in order to minimise the ill effects of agrichemicals?
A: Yes, but it is the duty of the government to support them, provide them with opportunities. You can find bread for Rs 2 in some parts of the Punjab, but in the rest of the country it is for Rs 10. Is this a policy for sustainable development? No. We are far behind in the world and still drowning speedily.

mountain dry fruit

mountain dry fruit

Short history

Ghizer District is the westernmost part of the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. Its capital is Gakuch. Ghizer is crossroads between Gilgit and Chitral and also to China, Tajikistan via Qurumber pass through Ishkomen/Darkut Yasin (which are connected via Shandur Pass). Ghizer is a multi-ethnic district and three major languages are spoken; Khowar, Shina and Burushaski. There are also Wakhi speakers in Ishkoman and some Gujjars and Tajiks.
Ghizer is a distorted form of the name "Gherz" which means "refugees" in Khowar. Whenever the Mehtar of Chitral did unjust with their people in Chitral and forced them to migrate towards Gupis. They were settled in the area between Chitral and Gupis and the area called Gherz and the people were called Gherzic. When Zulafiqar Ali Bhutto the President of Pakistan abolished the FCR and Rajgi system and made another administrative district comprising the Tehsils (Political districts) the name Ghizer was agreed and unanimously.