Argand'Or joined forces with the U.C.F.A. Women Cooperatives (Union des Cooperatives des Femmes de l'Arganeraie), producers of hand-crafted Argan oil, and the Moroccan Forest Service DREF (Direction Regionale des Eaux et Forets du Sud Quest) to kick-off a large Argan reforestation project in Tiznit, Morocco on February 2nd, 2008. The objective of the project is to plant more than ten-thousand of the endangered Argan tree during the next years, ten for every coop member. In today's initial ceremony, 300 trees were planted by thirty members of the Al Amal cooperative in Tiznit. The project is financed by Argand'Or, the international partner of the U.C.F.A., and the forest authorities which provided the saplings.
The Argan tree, native only to the Arganeraie, a semi-arid region in Morocco's southwest, plays a crucial role in the region's ecological system. Argan trees are the only major plant in this semi-desert. The tree, a wild-growing thorny evergreen which can be traced back twenty million years to the Tertiary period, has a unique, very deep and wide reaching root system that allows it to make excellent use of water in the soil. Argan trees survive even with very little rain. During severe droughts, Argan trees shed their leaves and become dormant – only to thrive again with the onset of rain. The root system also channels water from occassionally occurring torrential rainfalls underground, thus playing a crucial role in the maintenance of ground water levels. The Argan forest protects the plains of south-western Morocco and the slopes of the High Atlas and Anti-Atlas mountains from soil erosion and desertification.
Lately, the Argan forest has been under tremendous pressure. In pre-historic times, Argan trees grew throughout North Africa's Maghreb region. However, in the last century alone, two thirds of the Argan forest have been lost to uncontrolled development, overgrazing and logging for charcoal production and firewood. Today, only twenty million of this endangered tree are left, raising concern for the long-term survival of this unique species. Furthermore, the disappearance of the Argan tree would result in a drop in groundwater level, the depletion of flora and fauna, and desertification*. To protect the unique eco-system, UNESCO declared the Arganeraie a Biosphere Reserve in 1998.
During the last decade, indigenous Berber women founded Women Cooperatives with the goal to commercially produce Argan oil from the seeds of the Argan tree. Cooperative argan oil production does not only help impoverished Berber women and their families – the increase in the economical value of the Argan tree also discourages logging and thus protects the remaining Argan forest. The U.C.F.A., which unites twenty-two Berber Women cooperatives, partners with Argand'Or in the production and marketing of hand-crafted Argan oil.
"Today's event is a milestone in the protection of the Argan tree and the eco-system Arganeraie", said Mohamed El Karz, founder of Argand'Or. "We at Argand'Or are glad to assist our partners, the U.C.F.A. Women Cooperatives, and the Moroccan authorities in their efforts to rescue the Argan forest and to provide good paying jobs to Berber women in this rural and impoverished region".
Nafissa Bellouch, Vice-president of the cooperartive Al Amal, added: "For us, the Argan tree represents hope. Today, we plant hope for our children and future generations. The Argan tree is holy to us – it blesses our village and provides us with strength, pride and the means to survive in our semi-arid homeland."
