Zied, Slim, Ali and Radhouane have chosen to leave the beaten track of conventional agriculture and embrace permaculture. In Mornag (Ben Arous), Ghomrassen (Tataouine), El Ayoun (Kasserine) and Metlaoui (Gafsa), these young and not-so-young farmers are fighting to make their dreams come true, but also to breathe new life into land that has often been neglected. On their respective farms, they practice agro-ecology, ignoring natural difficulties (drought, high soil salinity) and administrative obstacles such as formalities and lack of incentives for this type of farming, which is not recognised by the agricultural administration. They sow, harvest and produce local products, while rehabilitating more resilient farming practices in a Tunisia increasingly faced with climate change and drought. In this way, these agronomic enthusiasts ensure their families' food self-sufficiency while helping neighbours, cousins and other local producers (artisans, processors of agricultural products) to generate income and preserve their know-how. With the exception of Radhouane, who continues to work as a teacher, Slim Zied and Ali gave up their 'advertising' careers to pursue their dreams of self-employment and take up permaculture. These adventurers, who were met during the permaculture caravan organised by the Tunisian Permaculture Association (ATP), told TAP about their experiences. Between permaculture and recycling, Slim launches an educational farm After studying business administration in the United States, Slim Marzougui decided to return to Mornag, east of Tunis. He returned to his family's 1.2-hectare farm, known as El Berima. The absence of chemical treatments on this neglected farm for 20 years prompted Slim to take it over and dedicate it to permaculture from 2012. So, while leaving the citrus trees in place, Slim began planting olive, pimiento and hibiscus trees to produce okra. Crop diversification is the key word in permaculture, whereas monoculture leaves plants at the mercy of parasites and diseases," says the 43-year-old, who learned the basics of permaculture on the job, using the Internet when necessary. There has been no shortage of difficulties, but for Slim, 43, "every difficulty makes him happy". "All I do all day is find solutions," he says. For example, to remove the grass that used to cover part of the farm, which was a major problem to pull up and remove once and for all, he brought in an ewe. The ewe and the farm's donkey now single-handedly clear a large part of the farm of weeds. But for Slim, "the chickens are still the first workers on the farm," as he puts it. They clean the soil of insects and other pests, eat all the food waste and provide nitrogen for the compost. Slim, for whom "permaculture is a way of life", has turned his project into an "educational farm". So, while he continues to work his land, he digs his duck pond and builds his ecological dome. Slim carries out all these projects by recruiting volunteers (one Tunisian and one foreigner) and offering them board and lodging in return. It is a formula that is used all over the world. "I used to use a farm worker, but he often let me down, so I found what I was looking for in volunteers. They usually give their all," he says with satisfaction. Besides permaculture, Slim is also into salvaging. Doors, shutters, tyres and sheet metal, old chairs and sofas and many other things are piled up in various corners of the farm, waiting for Slim to give them a new life and use. Here, an old fridge has been transformed into a plant pot; next door, sheet metal makes a fence for the chicken coop, while old shutters decorate the terrace where Zied hosts his table d'hôte. On the menu is a little-known Tunisian dish, sorghum salad. In El Ayoun: a return to the roots guarantees the salvation of an entire family In 2019, the family of Mnaouar Marzougui and his son Zied lived in the city. But the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus epidemic forced this family of 7 to leave their home in the city of Kasserine for their home village of El Ayoun. In this village, not far from Thala, the family has 9 hectares of land and a small, rudimentary building that initially served as a holiday home. At first, the father of the family, 69-year-old Mnaour Ben Abdallah Marzougui, thought only of his own survival. "I wanted to save my children (3 boys and 2 girls) and give them a healthier environment," he told TAP. For his son Zied, who has a PhD in biological chemistry and worked in an aquaculture company in Sfax until 2016 and then in water analysis laboratories, it was an opportunity to escape unbearable stress and a working environment heavily exposed to the handling of chemicals. For Zied, who was already interested in agriculture, returning to El-Ayoun was an opportunity to try something new. The lockdown allowed the whole family to come together, close ranks and concentrate on their farm. As Aid el-Idha approached, the retired father's relatives and friends, who, like him, were suffering from the crisis of unpaid pensions, ordered their sacrificial sheep from Zied, with deferred payment. By accepting this recommendation, Zied not only got his money back, but also built a reputation for the quality of the meat from his small flock. The chemist, who was due to leave Tunisia in March 2020 to take up a teaching post at the University of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, but had to give it up because of visa restrictions and the closure of the borders, has found in agroecology what he needs (a salary for himself and his younger brother) and much more (a healthy and peaceful environment). Zied started his livestock farm with around TND 7,000, including 4,000 to buy the animals (kids and 3-month-old lambs) and 3,000 to feed them. Thanks to the breeding of goats and sheep, the number of which varies according to the seasons and the weather (30 ewes after selling 30 others), and 250 chickens, compared with just 10 and a rooster at the start, the 36-year-old has thrown himself wholeheartedly into an integrated project that allows him to use the manure to nourish the land. "My first concern was to fertilise the soil". At the same time, he has planted trees to provide shade and protect his vegetable garden from the blazing sun, even in October. Supported by his family, especially his mother, who helps him with the accounts and processes the products (goat's cheese, traditional cakes) in her own kitchen, Zied continues to develop his project. He has 9 hectares of land, with a wide range of crops (grain, olives, fruit trees and vegetable gardens) that allow him "to feed my family almost independently and to sell some products, mainly meat and eggs". He also rents out uncultivated land to neighbours and relatives, and thanks to the two water reservoirs (mejels) dug near the house, which has since been extended, he plans to put his experience of natural wastewater treatment to good use. The family is planning to set up their own table d'hôte, where visitors will be able to sample authentic dairy and agricultural products (olive oil, goat's cheese and bessissa are already available) and much more. From eco-tourism to oasis agro-ecology at Richet Enam (ostrich feather) Ali Sadraoui, 29 years old, has a master's degree in computer science (embedded systems). After graduating, he began his career as a computer scientist in a private company in Sousse, but after a year he couldn't stand the " confinement of the office". Used to nature and adventure (he walked from Béja to Bizerte and travelled around south-eastern Tunisia with a friend), "I dreamed of being my own boss and couldn't stand the constraints of the office". Ignoring his mother's concerns, he started out as a tourist guide in his region, organising hikes in the Thalja mountains (Metlaoui). Ali was soon involved in an ecotourism project funded by the German agency GIZ. This enabled him to start building a camping centre in his family's oasis at Richet Enam, "the mother oasis and one of the oldest" in the region, according to its inhabitants. But his dream doesn't stop there. With the help of his family, he is working to "create a whole interdependent and harmonious ecosystem in the 15 hectares of oasis" at his disposal, despite all the administrative difficulties (the licence and the funding block). As well as date palms, the oasis has apricot, pomegranate and alfalfa trees. Ali keeps goats and ducks and offers visitors a range of local products such as date jam, butter and local dishes (metabgua). Unlike Slim, Zied and Ali, whose farms were already planted, Radhouane Tiss had only two olive trees on the land he inherited from his ancestors. A geographer with a long-standing passion for agriculture, he initially devoted himself to dry farming (olives and barley) on his 3-hectare plot, while at the same time cooking up his permaculture project (saving and collecting resources). From the beginning, I wanted something sustainable, based on nature and preserving diversity," Radhouane tells visitors. In 2017, he launched his "Oued El Khil" (Horse Valley) estate, using drought-resistant farmers' seeds. He has planted 700 fruit trees, fodder plants and all kinds of fruit and vegetables. Thanks to a well he dug at the outset and drip irrigation, Radhouan has enough water for his crops, but he tries to limit its use in order to develop their resistance to the region's arid climate by using mulch to conserve soil moisture. He has invested 50,000 dinars in the construction of an eco-friendly guesthouse and 2 domes. The first is designed to welcome tourists, while the second is a very simple shelter for his animals (goats and chickens). Radhouane is currently putting the finishing touches to a third, even larger dome (2 bedrooms, living room, kitchen area and showers). The labour required for this type of construction is expensive, but there is always the possibility of calling on volunteers (6 people) to help him with his work. Since the start of his project, Radhouane says he has called on them 3 times. The Oued El Khil estate offers self-catering accommodation to Tunisian and foreign tourists for 9 months, except during the summer. This ecological tourism allows Radhouane to sell his produce. He is "self-sufficient in food" and has two harvests a year of potatoes, tomatoes (2 varieties) and various other fruits and aromatic plants. "His purchases from outside are limited to a few vegetables and milk for the children" during the weaning period. For his brother Abderrazek, what Radhouane has done on his property, Oued El Khil (the Valley of the Horses), is "gigantic". But for Radhouane, all it takes is perseverance and breath.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse