The gift of a vine

Organisation: Community of Herat Raisin Producers
Contact: Post Box No.49, Herat City, Afghanistan
Phone: +93 700 411 701
Email: naserjami2003(at)yahoo.com

It was a relatively hot summer afternoon when I arrived at my father’s vineyard. The (Lal) grapes were shining like rubies against the sun’s rays. For a second I felt as if every vine was calling me in order to give me a gift. All of a sudden, I reached for one of the vines, picked some grapes, and began to eat. I will never forget their delicious and tasty flavor. A few moments later, I felt as though a tremendous energy was released inside me, following which a pleasant feeling overtook my whole body. The deafening silence and the grandeur of the vineyard tempted me to lay on the ground and to look at the azure sky for a few moments. A few minutes later as I opened my eyes, I noticed that the sun was setting. I had slept three full hours while in reality I felt I had closed my eyes for only a few moments.

Now after a few years, there is no trace of those grapevines. Of the 1000 types of grapes, which used to exist in Herat, Afghanistan, only few kinds remain. Most of them are either extinct or at the point of extinction. In spite of this, there are still some 50 different types of grapes in Herat, which are threatened with extinction. Regretfully, one has to look through history books to discover all the different types and tastes of grapes, which once came from this city – a city that was renowned for its grapes for more than four thousand years.

I believe no gift could be more valuable that the one nature bestows generously upon us. Lets not change the quality of its gifts.(let us take better care of the beautiful gifts that the nature gives us!)