The collective granaries of the commune of Amtoudi (province of Guelmim), the ksar of Assa (province of Assa-Zag), and that of Agadir Ouzrou in Akka (province of Tata) 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 the Moroccan architect Salima Naji since 2003 and which enjoys the support of the Southern Agency, was nominated among the 20 projects that could 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 site in Assa to renovate the wall of the ksar. 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, the 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 site 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 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 guesthouses 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 in April last year, the French National Jazz Orchestra. Similarly, the sacred space of the Zawya where the great moussem of the Aït Oussa takes place was completely restructured. The religious building was rehabilitated for optimal reception of young students. The Southern Agency and the architect Salima Naji led a campaign for the complete restoration of the two collective granaries of Amtoudi in 2007.

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 historical 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 have put themselves at the service of the inhabitants to develop a project that respects 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 two restorations of collective granaries in Ayt Kine and Isserghine (province of Tata) in the first half of 2013, 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 aims to recognise and promote the architectures most capable of satisfying the needs of Muslim societies and responding to their aspirations.