Excellent story by Anthony Elgohassin & photos by Sam Tarling:
From cannabis to cabernet
Farmers here used to grow cannabis and opium poppies destined for the hash and heroin trade. Now, they grow grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Tempranillo, and more. Working together in the Cooperative Coteaux d’Heliopolis—or the “Heliopolis Cooperative,” inspired by the Hellenic name for Baalbek, a major nearby town—farmers in the area have been supplying grapes to Lebanon’s largest wineries since the early 2000s
The Bekka Valley, Lebanon
Clear use of drip irrigation in one of the articles photos.
Factoid: Drip Irrigation was first developed by Simcha Blass in 1956 at the Kibbutz Hatzerim, Israel.
Here it is today:
