Imraguen Women’s Bottarga Presidium (Mauritania)

Imraguen are nomad fishermen who follow the movements of schools of red mullet along the northern coast of Mauritania.

Using motorless boats, they are the only people permitted to fish these protected waters. The women – who make a traditional bottarga by salting, rinsing and pressing the mullet eggs between two boards – formed a Slow Food Presidium in 2006 to improve the product quality, find a steady market and develop direct relationships with customers to avoid being undervalued on the market.

The next stages of the project are to build a workshop that conforms to EU standards, provide further training and strengthen the local production chain through evaluation of the fishing practices and establishment of local salt production.

The necessary funding being sought for this project in 2009 is 64,000 euros, according to the following breakdown:

• Land purchase, workshop and equipment 47,000
• Training and consultancy 10,000
• National and international promotional events 5,000
• Communication 3,000
  
  For further information, click here to view a photo story of this project.