Meet the Singaporeans who run an eco-friendly olive farm in southern Lebanon

SINGAPORE – The incessant whine of drones and the hiss of missiles are a constant phenomenon as Singaporean Mae Lam and her family tend to their olive farm in southern Lebanon.

The farm is 60 km from the Israeli border. At one point, a rocket fell nearby and her house vibrated, Ms Lam, 59, told The Straits Times, and stones from the mountain fell onto the main road.

“The drones are operating around the clock to instill fear in people, even during the ceasefire,” she said, referring to the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon signed on November 27, 2024.

Her 10 ha The olive farm with 700 olive trees is located in the village of Houmine al-Tahta in southern Lebanon.

The region is famous for its olive production.

The Beit Ballout farm (House Ballout) produces high quality olive oil. Plants such as sage, lavender, laurel, orange and longan trees also grow.

Despite the ongoing threat and impending danger, Ms. Lam's family and their workers have continued, especially during the harvest season that begins in October.

“If we leave this world in the process, we will be happy,” she added, having become accustomed to Lebanese resilience and living life to the fullest.

After all, it was a long-held dream for Ms. Lam and her Lebanese husband Adib Ballout to build a house in southern Lebanon and enjoy the fruits of the land.

That dream came true in 2018 when they decided to work on the Ballouts family land.

For him it means connecting even more closely with his roots. For them it is the fulfillment of a dream to live and work on a farm.

Another challenge for Ms. Lam is her lack of Arabic skills, which makes it difficult for her to communicate with workers.

Therefore, her husband manages most of the operations on the farm.

They also have to contend with an unstable power supply, which is why, like most families, they have a generator that kicks in when the power goes out.

Still, it is not surprising that Ms. Lam cares so deeply about the country and the Lebanese community.

The Ballout family name is Arabic for oak and reflects their ethos of being rooted in land, family and community.

The couple, who met in Oman in 1993 and married within a month, spend up to six months a year on the farm, along with their two children, daughter Alia, 27, and son Alawi, 25, who were both born in Singapore and are Singaporean citizens.

The rest of the year in Oman is spent with annual visits to Singapore.

“I have always been very health-conscious and desire organic food. I also value the fresh air and contact with the land itself,” said Ms Lam, who believes she is the only Singaporean in south Lebanon.

There's also something special about growing your own food, and she said, “Eating something you grew is very spiritual and connects you to the land.”

Because of this, they are strict in the way Beit Ballout runs.

First of all, they grow all of their products organically, without the use of chemicals. The soil is fertilized by a flock of sheep that eat all the fallen olives, leaves and twigs.

The attention to detail extends to the way the olives are harvested and processed.

Harvesting occurs after the first rain to ensure the high antioxidant content, better nutritional quality and improved flavor profile of the fruit.

The olives are harvested by hand, instead of using tree shakers as usual, according to Ms Alia, can damage the olives and reduce their quality.

“My father doesn't like the trees being mistreated. He has removed workers who were found to be rough handling the fruits and trees,” she said.

The olives are then cold-pressed using a granite wheel within four to six hours of harvest – a technique that has been used in the region for centuries – to preserve as much flavor as possible.

Using traditional methods means all hands are on board during the harvest season.

This includes the Ballouts and the rest of their “family” of 15 workers, who are Syrian and Palestinian refugees. They work from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day for three weeks to pick the olives by hand.

Picking olives by hand is a communal and traditional practice.

“It keeps ancient practices alive; just like our grandparents did,” Ms Alia said.

The result? A full-bodied green extra virgin olive oil that ensures all nutrients and polyphenols remain intact.

When they began operating the farm, the olive oil was shipped to Oman, where the family is based and where Ms. Lam has run a thriving spa business for 26 years.

There they began giving away bottles of olive oil to family and friends who couldn't get enough of the “liquid gold.”

That's when Ms Alia decided in February 2023 – while studying full-time law – to set up a business in Singapore to market the family's extra virgin olive oil. The website went live on November 17th.

Your goal is not profit-oriented, but rather to connect with people and offer them a good product.

“I focus on individual buyers and not on selling our olive oil to restaurants and larger companies where people don’t know what they are eating,” Ms Alia said.

“I also want to change people’s perspective on Lebanon, a perspective that is not one of war and chaos, but one of good products and community.”