Afrin is famous for its olive trees.
The oil is just one product. Even more highly valued, though, is the belun.
Belun is a byproduct from the oil presses – it is what is left after the oil and water is extracted.
Kurdish farmers from Afrin call belun black gold. It is used to make soap and is condensed into the coal that is burned in shisha pipes.
In 2008 and 2009, the KRG’s Ministry of Agriculture went to Afrin to learn about the best soil for growing olive trees. They brought back olive saplings and experimented on them here. They found that the trees grew well in the soil of Kurdistan. Olives favour mountainous regions.
Every year, between 50 and 100 thousand olive trees are imported from Afrin to the Kurdistan Region, growing a small Afrin.
