Growing Diversity – North Africa

TITLE OF EXPERIENCE: Preserving the cultural heritage and the environment of the Zammour community

AUTHOR: Sustainable Development in the Zammour Valley (Association de Développement Durable de la vallée de Zammour (l’ADD))

COUNTRY AND REGION: TUNISIA, Matmata

ECOLOGICAL ZONE: The Zammour valley is situated in an arid mountain environment in the northern part of the Matmata mountain range which runs across the south of Tunisia from east to west (rainfall : 150 mm).

ABSTRACT

The Zammouris, a berber community, live in one of the valleys of the Matmata mountains. This is an arid environment surrounded by steppes. At the bottom of the valleys, the Zammouris have developed arboriculture, the cultivation of cereals and sheep-goat herding on the pathways nearby with a particular system of water capture (jessours and tabias). The steppe is rich in aromatic herbs and medicinal plant species which are traditionally used.

There are several reasons, nowadays, for the degradation of socio-economic and ecological conditions in the region : unemployment causing people to leave the area, drought, the deterioration of the soil and of the vegetation cover on the pathways etc…

The project is centred around agriculture in conjunction with the management of natural resources, with ecotourism and with craft activities. In parallel, the organisation of the young people of Zammour (Association des Jeunes de Zammour, AJZ, the first organisation which gave rise to the ADD) has undertaken many cultural activities since it was created in 1991.

As far as agriculture is concerned, these activities consist in restoring, maybe even improving the water capture system (jessour, tabias). The management of biodiversity is one of ADD’s main interests. ADD have observed that local varieties are the only ones able to survive in the arid climate of the region. Finally the pathways are of great economic importance to the village and they must therefore be maintained and even restored. The organisation has also undertaken to maintain the wild vegetation and the locally cultivated plants.

ADD has become one of the main organisation in the region to liaise with scientific and developmental organisations. It has therefore a very stimulating function.

CONTACT:

ADD, Abdelhamid Zammouri, tel/fax : 216 75 64 24 83 . BP 508 Medenine 4100 Tunisie addzammouri@voila.fr