We continued our drive through Tiout (past the women‘s argan cooperative) to reach the oasis on the outskirts of the small town. The one lane road going through the town was narrow with few people. Donkeys were here and there, stray cats, occasional mopeds and bicycles with cars being the rarest form of transport.
Kasbah (above)
We hiked up to the historical Kasbah (residence of a former government representative) that permitted scenic views of the Souss-Massa-Draa valley as sunset approached.
Oasis
The oasis is a traditional form of agricultural practice found in desert regions oftentimes along rivers in valleys. These are not a “mirage” but I can see why it would be exciting and life saving for traveling caravans of years past to come across lush vegetation with a water source – especially after desert travel. By the way, we are not talking about any old desert here, we are talking about the Sahara! The Sahara is the largest hot/dry desert on Earth and it is about the size of the continental US.
To be clear, Tiout is not part of the Sahara but it is close enough to be described as north Saharan steppe desert.
How can lush vegetation exist in desert areas? The answer involves ingenuity of ancient people that continues to the present time.
Harvesting rain water runoff is practiced but it is not enough. Water is mainly accessed by digging holes into the mountain sides to access aquifers and allow gravity to carry the water in open air channels (ancient ones were known as khettara). Water may be stored in catch basins as shown here and then diverted to different small scale farms within the oasis. Payment for the water is accomplished on an hourly basis and depends upon the size of the farm (1-10 acres).
What are some common crops grown?
Main crops are cereals (wheat, corn, barley- 43% of cropland), legume forage crops, turnips, carrots, squash, trees such as date palm, pomegranate, orange, apple, olives, almonds, apricot, etc.
Threats to the Oasis Creates Greater Threats
Oases are important because they are agro-biodiversity hotspots (high plant and domestic animal biodiversity). There are concerns as Morocco modernizes increasing mass production of food by monoculture which, in turn, threatens small scale oasis farmers.
Compounding the problem is that oases are the last line of defense against desertification (expansion of the Sahara desert) as droughts increase due to climate change.
March 29, 2019 at 4:37 pm
Do they have a backup watering system if there isn’t much rainfall?
April 2, 2019 at 11:53 am
Hi Maddie,
There are no back up water sources at least not to the small farms which are in the majority. That said, the watering practices carried out are quite sustainable. Water is purchased by the hour and there is minimal water waste because of it. These practices have worked for ages but, of course, climate change and the recent drought are major concerns for ALL countries. The large monoculture crops access water from dammed reservoirs so they have a pretty constant supply.
March 29, 2019 at 4:38 pm
Is the agriculture different in different cities/towns?
March 30, 2019 at 12:21 pm
Hi Abbie,
I have read about another form of traditional farming called terrace farming directly along the base of mountains and Morocco has 3 main mountain ranges (Rif, High Atlas, and Anti-Atlas). I am not aware to what extent this type of farming exists. The argan trees, that I saw were in a disordered plantation like arrangement with goats (see the other post on agriculture). The date palm is a huge agriculture product and there are date palm monocultures being grown- not as sustainable as the traditional practices in terms of water use especially, but monocultures do produce vast quantities of product.
March 29, 2019 at 5:51 pm
The picture of the flowers is my favorite. It looks so peaceful. It’s so amazing that you were able to experience what you did. 🙂
March 30, 2019 at 11:17 am
I agree. The flowers were wonderful. Apparently spring is the best time for flower viewing because it is not too hot out yet.
April 1, 2019 at 12:51 pm
Are there large scale farms and processing plants or are most things farm to table type and local markets? Do they grow most of their food or import fruits and vegetables like in America?
April 1, 2019 at 5:10 pm
Hi Rachel- good q’s. Approximately 89% of all farms are under 10 acres! Look in the “March archives” to see my agriculture posts. There is concern over monoculture farms taking over- hopefully this won’t happen. The date palms are mostly large scale monocultures. The food diet consists of nearly 100% in country grown food!!! I do not know for sure how much is imported but I can say that any traditional Moroccan meals are from the local farms. They have a wonderful climate for producing a wide variety of fruits and veggies.
April 1, 2019 at 12:53 pm
The weather looks good! The sun rise looks really good with the all the animals in it. You know what in sayin’ ? It’s really cool!
April 1, 2019 at 5:05 pm
Yes Jason, I agree! The spring is considered the best time of year in Morocco- not too hot and lots of flowers are blooming.
April 1, 2019 at 12:55 pm
These pictures look so cool, the scenic views must’ve been great. They remind me of the hikes that I have taken in Italy this past summer.
April 1, 2019 at 5:04 pm
Yes, I love spending time outdoors too. Even though we didn’t do much hiking we were outside a lot. One night a family who invited us to dinner brought rugs and sofa cushions from inside the house outside so we could all have a picnic-like dessert and tea!
April 2, 2019 at 3:11 am
Beautiful pictures Ms. C. I assume there is a lot of emphasis on being with family during meal times (as I can recall you telling us about students being able to return home from lunch). Was there the same emphasis on being outdoors with family for meal times?
April 2, 2019 at 10:04 am
Hi Ava,
I’m not so sure about the emphasis for eating outside but when our group of 14 was invited to Friday couscous dinner -held after prayer in the afternoon-we ate inside and then they brought a large carpet and sofa cushions out on the lawn for us to have tea and dessert! It was so fun and we were outside to well after sundown.
Another thing is that most urban/suburban homes, no matter the financial status of the family, have an open air courtyard that the home is built around. There is always at least one potted or planted tree and a water bath/ fountain in the courtyard. So, it seems that outdoor sanctuaries are valued.
One other remark- the weather is best during the spring. In the summer it get oppressively hot and the streets and souks get packed for daily shopping in the evening because people avoid going out in the heat.
April 3, 2019 at 3:23 pm
It seems that the Oasis are very important to the biodiversity of the area and the production of the crops. Is there any talk of the increasing desertification and how they will combat the negative impacts happening due to the climate change?
Ryan
April 3, 2019 at 6:36 pm
Hi Ryan, Excellent question and yes the Moroccan government has been working on climate change mitigation and adaptability measures for the country. For example, in the city known as Ouarzazate (experiencing desertification pressures) a “green belt” plan is in place where they are actively planting trees to ensure that the desert does not encroach. Part of this plan is the use of gray water for irrigation as well. The government and people highly value the oases and measures to protect them are in place as well.
April 3, 2019 at 8:42 pm
The pictures look amazing and it’s so cool that you got to experience it. What was the weather like when you were there? It seems like it was pretty warm. Did it get really cold at night?
April 4, 2019 at 11:56 am
Hi Emma, The weather is really nice in the spring. It was in the 70’s during the day and 40-50’s in the evening. It was chilly enough that an extra blanket was needed. Pretty typical for moderate desert temps.