The province of Smara has just acquired Dar Argane. A project that falls within the framework of encouraging the social economy at the local level.

Initiated by the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) in partnership with the Agency for the Promotion and Economic and Social Development of the Southern Provinces and the province of Smara, this project includes the construction of the Argan house for a cost of two million dirhams, and is equipped with a production unit, the acquisition of material, equipment, and raw materials. This project will allow, in a first phase, the creation of 15 jobs, including 11 direct ones, and is part of a global programme aimed at preserving the argan tree of the province of Smara, the only region of the Moroccan Sahara housing this type of tree with an area of 3,000 ha in the rural communes of J'Diria and Haouza.

This project, which is part of the programme launched three years ago in Smara and which focuses on strengthening the social economy and fighting against precariousness, aims in particular at the valorisation of the argan tree and its derivatives and meets all the conditions for the manufacture of agri-food products, and supporting local women's cooperatives, through support for quality improvement.

Thus, this pioneering project in the Southern provinces will focus on the consolidation of an integrated argan oil sector, from the collection of raw materials to the marketing of the product, including extraction, which ensures the quality of the final product while respecting homogeneous manufacturing methods. It will also contribute to the protection of the "arganeraie" through the increased valorisation of its products, literacy and training for women, and the establishment of an entrepreneurial dynamic that creates wealth in a rural world strongly affected by the exodus of populations.

As a reminder, the programme for encouraging the social economy in Smara is jointly financed by the INDH and the Agency for the Promotion and Economic and Social Development of the Southern Provinces, and is endowed with a budget of 8 million DH, from which more than 300 people have benefited to date. The programme focuses in particular on improving human development indicators, notably through poverty reduction, particularly among the poorest communes, support for income-generating activities, and capacity building.