Afghan raisin houses get a facelift to boost productivity Afghan farmer Abdul Jalil Gulzar sits by a pile of raisins in the squat mud brick shed where generations of his family have dried their grape harvest. Such traditional huts have long been used to hang and desiccate the fruit, but now the keshmesh khanas -- the Dari term for raisin houses -- are getting a facelift as Afghanistan looks to improve its yield.