The collective granaries of the commune of Amtdi (Guelmim province), the ksar of Assa (Assa-Zag province), and that of Agadir Ouzrou in Akka (Tata province) are part of the programme for the preservation of sacred and collective architectures of the oases of the Guelmim-Smara region.

This programme, led by Moroccan architect Salima Naji since 2003 and which enjoys the support of the Southern Agency, was nominated among the 20 projects that will be able to claim the highly coveted Aga Khan Award for Architecture, 2013 cycle. In 2006, at the request of the director of the Southern Agency, the architect began a participatory project in Assa to renovate the ksar wall. Maalmines from the commune of Amtoudi, experienced in construction techniques using stone, earth, lime, and palm trunks, thus supervised several dozen workers from Assa.

In parallel, with local associations, architect Salima Naji and the Southern Agency developed a community action programme for the safeguarding and rehabilitation of the ksar of Assa. The massive use of local labour and materials allowed the project to have a very low carbon footprint and to be part of economic, social, environmental, and cultural sustainability logics from start to finish.

The suspense will last until the month of September when the precious Award will be presented in Lisbon.

In addition to the collective and sacred parts that have been restored, the Southern Agency initiated ambitious support for project leaders (associations, micro-enterprises) to develop income-generating activities in the ksar. Today, there are two restaurants and four rehabilitated guest houses that ensure the reception of visitors in the ksar.

Furthermore, anxious to preserve the intangible culture, which is extremely dynamic in this province, the programme allowed for the creation of a vast open-air theatre where local, regional, but also international music troupes come to perform, as was the case last April with the French National Jazz Orchestra. Likewise, the sacred space of the Zawya where the great moussem of the Aït Oussa takes place was entirely restructured. The religious building was rehabilitated for optimal reception of young students. The Southern Agency and architect Salima Naji led, in 2007, a campaign for the complete restoration of the two collective granaries of Amtoudi.

Strengthened by her experience and the success of these actions, Salima Naji is solicited by several NGOs to duplicate this participatory approach to other ksours in the region. The facades facing the palm grove and the historic entrances were rehabilitated before initiating a more ambitious dynamic with the inhabitants and cooperatives.

By selecting this programme, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture salutes the desire to multiply integrated projects with local civil society, allowing, in addition to the maintenance of construction skills, the preservation of a quality public space that supports all intangible practices. The Southern Agency and Salima Naji put themselves at the service of the inhabitants to develop a project respectful of their heritage and their environment.

Moreover, if within the framework of the Aga Khan Award only projects completed before 31 December 2011 are retained, what seduced the selection committee and the evaluation experts is the reproducibility of the methodology. The architect has just completed in the first half of 2013 two restorations of collective granaries in Ayt Kine and Isserghine (Tata province), still according to the same participatory approach, within the framework of the American Ambassador Fund for Cultural Preservation.

Established by Karim Aga Khan in 1977, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture was created to reward excellence in architecture in Muslim societies. It is a triennial prize endowed with 500,000 dollars, which makes it the best-rewarded architecture prize. It has the ambition to make recognised and promote the architectures most capable of satisfying the needs of Muslim societies and responding to their aspirations.