During COVID we decided to expand our existing small farm. Transporting large amounts of fruits and vegetables to our three locations from suppliers in other parts of Egypt was not environmentally friendly, and despite them being very tasty, we wanted to make sure that the produce we are serving in our restaurants is grown in an organic and as environmentally friendly way as possible.

In 2020 we formed a partnership to expand our Marsa Shagra farm to an area of 1.3 hectares, targeted mainly at producing vegetables. In our main greenhouse and poly tunnels we grow a selection of peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, chillis and tomatoes. Crops are grown depending on the season and are rotated as they are harvested. We have chosen these specific items of produce as a starting point as they are vegetables which will grow well in the harsh desert conditions, without the need for additional pesticides to be added. At the height of the cucumber season after growing the plants for approximately 3 months, we produce around 300kg of cucumbers every 4 days. The total amount of vegetables produced from our own farm is currently around 40% of the vegetable produce we serve in the restaurants in Marsa Shagra, Marsa Nakari and Wadi Lahami.

We use water from our own new water desalination plant, which uses 100% solar energy and the latest technology to be as environmentally friendly as possible. We use only manure (from our own farm) and natural pesticides meaning our produce is completely organic.

Our ambition in the medium term is to expand our farm to a size of 5 hectares, with a greater variety of vegetables and some fruits, starting with figs and lemons.

A small section of our farm is also dedicated to goats (used for milk), chickens (for providing eggs) and pigeons (used to serve in our staff cafeteria). We are also looking into hydroponic farming as a potential project for the future of our farm.

Having our own farm is not necessarily more economical than purchasing goods from suppliers, however we believe that the environmental benefits are important enough to justify this. Produce in excess of our own needs can be sold to surrounding hotels and businesses. We hope that at some point other local businesses will also shift to a similar model and with scalability comes more economic solutions. Our farm also provides more employment which helps the local community and their families, as well as bringing them knowledge and expertise from our farming partners who help us oversee the project.