Our first small harvest:
Two and a half months after the start of our cultivation, we started haarvesting our new peppermint fields for the first time. The result was 6 tons of fresh peppermint from the 20 acres that we planted in May. After a few days of drying, the 6 tons will shrink down to 1 ton of dry peppermint and can be poured as delicious tea. 
Eventhough we are happy about our first harvest, the yield itself was not the main reason for harvesting. Rather, trimming the plants in this early stage, stimulates root growth which will increase their resilience and leads to a highter cultivation density and thereby to higher yields in the future.
We expect the first big peppermint harvest for the begining of september and a total yield of more than 2 tons per acre in the first year.
The other half of the pivot, which is planted with peanuts will be harvested in October.
We want to thank all of our contributors again for making this happen!
Without you this would still be desert.
If you want to join as well, you can do it here:
What happens next?
Next week we will show you how our finished system, including our new solar-system looks like.
Furthermore we are currently digging our new well for the second Pivot. We will begin with opperating the second Pivot in September on which we start our cultivation with camomile.
Art and culture in the desert
In addition to the first successful harvest on former desert soil, we have already made some efforts to promote the community building and development of employees in the rough area. The about 50 co-workers of the SEKEM Farm in Wahat El-Bahareya have recently had frequent visits from art educators from Heliopolis University. Together, they painted, did eurythmy and even juggled. In the months before, there were already music workshops and information courses on the subject of plastic. Starting in September, these courses will be held even more regular and become an integral part of the life of the staff at SEKEM Farm in Wahat el-Bahareyya.