Abu Elias: 40 Years in the Bekaa Sun

## The Land Remembers

Abu Elias doesn't check weather apps. He checks the sky, the soil, the way his fig trees hold their leaves in late afternoon. At 67, he's been farming the same stretch of Bekaa Valley land that his grandfather broke ground on in the 1940s.

"The land remembers what you give it," he says, turning a clod of dark earth in his hand. "Feed it well, it feeds you well. Neglect it, and it'll show you."

## A Day in the Field

His mornings start at 4:30 AM, before the heat. The Bekaa is generous but unforgiving — summer temperatures can crack 40C, and the land demands constant attention. His crops rotate through the seasons: tomatoes and cucumbers in summer, leafy greens in autumn, root vegetables through winter.

What makes Abu Elias different is his refusal to take shortcuts. While neighboring farms have shifted to intensive monoculture, he keeps his plots diverse. "Monoculture is borrowing from next year," he says. "I don't borrow."

## From His Hands to Your Table

Frutzco sources directly from farmers like Abu Elias — no middlemen, no cold storage warehouses, no weeks-long supply chains. His tomatoes are picked in the morning and on your doorstep by afternoon. That's not marketing. That's geography and respect.

## What He Grows

• Summer: Tomatoes (baladi and Roma), cucumbers, peppers, zucchini
• Autumn: Spinach, chard, arugula, radish
• Winter: Potatoes, carrots, turnips, cabbage
• Spring: Broad beans, peas, lettuce, fresh herbs

## His Advice

"Eat what's in season. Your grandmother knew this. The supermarket made you forget."

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We deliver Abu Elias's harvest to Beirut within hours of picking. No wax, no gas ripening, no excuses.