The intoxicating tiny flowers of the Damask rose are grown in the Rose Valley to produce rare rose oil and unique rose water. The term rare is due to the huge number of flowers needed to produce it. To make 1 kg of this liquid gold, 1 million Damask rose flowers need to be hand-picked!!! The essential essence of this gem is therefore 1 million human touches. Without human hands, human labor, there would be no rose oil and rose water. And the human element is currently the biggest problem in rose harvesting.
Labor drag
The pickers are hired annually by the owners of the fields. There are leaders who organize individual groups. Transport is organized for them. They are brought to the fields at dawn and taken back after noon. Every year, growers struggle with a shortage of labor. Seasonal workers leave for agricultural work in Greece, Italy, Spain, and England. Those who remain are literally being dragged along by farmers. This year, the situation was the most difficult in the last few years. Nevertheless, everything was managed.
1 bag in 2 hours
At dawn, work brigades arrive in the fields. Among them, you will find mainly ethnic and socially disadvantaged groups. Some Roma families transport themselves using their decorated horse-drawn carriages. One feels as if one has found oneself in the middle of a family horse parade. The carriages are loaded with numerous relatives. Everyone who has healthy arms and legs rides. And everyone is looking forward to it. Upon arrival, the leaders hand over a list of names, the pickers are given bags that they tie around their waists for easier handling, and off they go. A 10 kg bag is filled after about 2 hours of careful manual work. The tiny flowers of the Damask rose are very light. The picker takes each bag to the collection point, where a rose factory worker is waiting to weigh, check, and record the data. After a certain number of bags are gathered at this location, drivers arrive and express transport the treasures to the rosé distillery for distillation. The distillation must be done immediately, as soon as possible after collection.
Fairness
The interesting thing about the entire collection campaign is the individual human destinies and stories. You will meet here completely illiterate young ethnic members and, conversely, very intelligent Bulgarians who, due to adversity and a difficult economic situation, have fallen into need. By purchasing our products, you are directly helping these people. They were properly paid for their work. We only cooperate with fair growers. For products SoZoLe Rose is not only important for the purity of agriculture itself, but also for the farmers' correct approach to all the "human hands" involved in the production of pink gems. Support them with us. I will gradually reveal more stories here.
