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STORY: These worms are producing "black gold"

Location: Damascus countryside, Syria

Hassan Khalifa takes care of millions

of worms as they make liquid fertilizer

Hassan Khalifa, Farmer

“This is an organic fertilizer. When you put it in the soil, it saves 30 to 40 percent of irrigation. This is an economic aspect which saves irrigation. When you save 30 to 40 percent of irrigation, you save power, as in fuel or diesel - the power you use for irrigation. On another side, there is the recycling of food leftover."

Khalifa started his business with just 10 worms

They eat food scraps which then become compost

He has grown his business

to around 50 customers

Ahmad Allaf, Customer:

“We used to irrigate with water every two or three days. Now, we irrigate every four days because the plant produces twice as much with this fertilizer and the branch is growing heavily. Previously, with chemical materials, you needed to irrigate every three days exactly and its compost is limited while a plant would produce once at a time, but now it is more fertile."