1577. Heenat Salma Farm Visit

We took a few hours to visit Heenat Salma farm for their date harvest event, and it was a wonderful experience. Due to the intense heat this time of year in Qatar, the event commences at 4pm, where we are invited for a date-filled afternoon tea. 

Since this is a farm visit, do wear practical clothing and footwear, and arm yourself with sunglasses and a hat.

Mark, the Kenyan chef makes everything at the farm, using primarily farm ingredients. Everything you see on this table has some form of dates from the farm in it.

Sesame date cake, vegan banana date cake, and fruit tart with a date base.

Date scones with date jam and sweet tahini.

Chocolate date tart (my favorite), and camel milk date smoothie. My companion loved the smoothie so much that we asked for the recipe, and were treated to a private cooking session where we made it and took the product home.

Steaming hot karak and Arabic coffee greeted us at the door. 

Cooling and refreshing watermelon juice.

Chef Mark explaining all the items and their ingredients.

Meeting the sheep and the kids milked them.

If you told me this picture was taken in Iraq, I would totally believe you. This farm visit sent me reeling in nostalgia for my Iraq.

Kids attempting to climb the tree to harvest dates.

Beautiful rustic outdoor seating where we were offered much appreciated cooling towels to wipe our hot faces.

We were supposed to have the date weaving workshop then, but went instead on an off-itinerary tour of the farm where we met plenty of animal friends, including horses, falcons, cats, deer, goats, and free-roaming peacocks.

This moment had me flashing to the stampede scene where Muafasa was killed. Thankfully, we made it through safe and unharmed.

Small outdoor market offering farm-baked goods to take back home.

The staff were so gracious and kind that they gave us a private session of the date weaving workshop we had missed earlier.

And the evening ended on a sweet and satisfied note, with all muscles pulsating with exertion of a healthy few hours spent, and the promise of a happy albeit sore tomorrow.

I highly recommend a visit to the farm. It is so refreshing to see all these small but impactful initiatives popping up celebrating the nature, culture, and traditions of the region. The staff gave us much more than what was outlined in the itinerary, and the entire experience was exceptional.