Sustainable development
The argan tree has been a versatile part of Berber village life and
its economy for a long time :
• Its strong wood (it is also called the Moroccan “Ironwood” tree)
is used for construction or fuel.
• Its leaves are used to feed goats.
• Its seeds are used in argan oil production.
• Its deep roots mean that it is an excellent barrier
against the spread of the desert.
• It provides shade for the fauna and flora that balance
the region’s
ecosystem.
• Thousands of people earn their living from its cultivation,
whether directly or indirectly.
This 80-million-year-old tree species is nonetheless threatened, and each year around 600 hectares of argan trees disappear. In spite of its resistance to drought (it can survive dormant with negligible water for a dozen years), the density of trees in the argan forest in Morocco was reduced by two thirds in a short space of fifty years.
Marogania is reviewing how to best deliver
a programme of
sustainable development in Morocco, to apply a
reserve it has already started to build up. It is considering
programmes that seek :
• To encourage the local population to cultivate and to protect
argan trees, through a programme of education about the benefits
of argan trees, in terms of combating the spread of the desert and
the part the argan-based economy can play in slowing the rural exodus.
• To participate in a programme of reforestation to ensure that the
tree density is maintained and increased for future generations.
• To provide for literacy classes for the women working in the argan
industry; the majority of Moroccan women are illiterate.
“ We reap what our fathers have sown and we sow for our children”
