Slow Food International

Every time we return to Morocco, even if only a year has passed since the last visit, we’re amazed at the speed and immensity of the changes that are underway. It’s a rapidly evolving country, pushed by the tumultuous influence of a very young population and a central government, in practice the King, that is very clear about the purposes of development. Development here is not at any cost, but must take into consideration the characteristics of the country and its economy.

One of the cornerstones of this process is agriculture. The Maroc Vert plan provides for important modernization of the agricultural sector, but alongside an equally strong commitment to support small-scale marginal production, disadvantaged regions and typical local products.

In this context, Slow Food’s ideas and suggestions are attracting attention from institutions and the growing urban middle class as well as food producers. Slow Food is not yet properly represented in terms of member numbers in Morocco, at least not compared to how widely the association’s philosophy is spreading and finding acceptance. But the situation, essentially caused by very strict legislation on associations, will change quickly. It is easy to predict that Slow Food will find a very important membership base in this country, which will probably become the first roothold for the association in Africa and among Arab countries.

Contradictions do still exist, and one cannot pretend that the country already has a Western-style socio-economic situation. During the last trip organized by the Slow Food Foundation, we visited the Rif, one of the poorest and most disquieting areas of the country. Here, roads become the uneven tracks we were used to in the rest of Morocco 20 years ago. The villages are isolated, with few services, and most people are illiterate. But the area is beautiful, with still-unspoiled mountain landscapes and agricultural areas.

Here we visited the new Presidium for Zerradoun salt, which women collect by evaporating the salty water that springs from a rocky valley floor. Thanks to the support of the Valencia convivium in Spain and the Moroccan Ministry for Trade, today the cooperative has a storage and processing facility and the machinery necessary to iodize the salt. However, sales are still insufficient and prices are low, while the effort needed to extract and transport the salt on mules should command a higher added value. This is the objective the Presidium has given itself. The project, supported by the Piedmont Regional Authority, will send a salt expert on a technical mission to improve the product’s characteristics, buy a new mill for grinding (the one they currently use is rusty and outdated), organize a trip for representatives to Terra Madre and arrange for the salt to be sold at the Salone del Gusto in October.

The trip was also an opportunity to visit the community of artisanal couscous producers in Asjen and the community of dried fig and plum producers in Taounate. In the Rif, the couscous community, made up of 20 women, is continuing a tradition that requires a high level of manual skill. The couscous is made by the oldest women using quick but accurate and expert hand movements. Semolina is mixed with water and salt then passed through a sieve to obtain the right grain size. The community wants to make an organic couscous and have traceability along the whole chain of production. This would allow them to sell their product not only at a local level but also to export it internationally.

The fig cooperative, meanwhile, is in an area rich in water, known as les sources de Buadel, where the round, black Naboul and Goudane varieties grow particularly well. The producers have a solar- and gas-powered dryer and manage to sell their dried figs on the local market. However, they want to improve the quality and convert to organic production. They also want to diversify so as to be less reliant on the seasonality of the fruit, producing couscous in the winter months.

The couscous and dried fig cooperatives will take part in Terra Madre 2010 and Terra Madre Tuscany, where they will be able to exchange problems, knowledge and ideas. We leave the cooperative with the memory of the song that Fatima, one of the Asjen producers, wrote to thank everyone who contributed to the success of her cooperative.

For more information
m.lenta@slowfood.it