11 Saharan Agriculture in the Algerian Oasis …
243
city. The philosophy on which Isle d’Abeau
4 was developed is to enable people
to organize themselves instead of responding to external requests to organize. This
approach, while not unique, was well-suited to L’Isle d’Abeau where the population is
committed to building and managing its own development projects (Hominal 1982).
These social technologies are not only useful in their direct role in addressing
social needs, but also because they facilitate new relationships among different stakeholders. This frames the current study on the arid southwestern Algerian region, with
emphasis on identifying the actors who are effective social “translators” between state
planners and the social networks that take up these innovations.
In the Sahara of North Africa, the development of the oasis areas is increasingly
complex. Despite their small surface area compared to the size of the desert, oases
play a fundamental role in maintaining the population in the great south of the
Maghreb (Bisson 1996). Extensive research on this topic has been contributed by
French geographers (Despois 1967; Bisson 1996 and 2003) as well as German (Suter
1959) scientists, who considered natural constraints, including water scarcity, in
Saharan environments. Richter (1995) proposed a typology of oases based on four
oasis resources: springs at the foot of a mountain, on rivers, in the foggara and with
drainage tunnels. Water mobilization techniques are different in each setting, but
have common requirements for effective water management. Sociological studies
of the oases of the Maghreb note a stratification based on race (Touat, Gourara,
Ouarzazat, Tafilalet) and/or other ethnic criteria (Ghardaïa). Marouf (1980, 2010a, b)
and Moussaoui (2011) highlight inequalities in access to water and agricultural land,
with land and foggara in these oasis societies considered socially inferior because it is
traditionally the domain of a class of black descendants of slaves from Sub-Saharan
Africa. In contrast, land and water ownership is often reserved for Chorfa (nobility).
This distinction, extant since the Middle Ages, has diminished markedly since the
independence of the Maghreb countries but still arises, for example, in marriage
between men and women belonging to different groups, sharing of natural resources
or in local power politics. Studies of transformations that have impacted society and
the environment in a profound way have served as interesting laboratories to observe
the evolution of the relationship between society and its environment. For example,
Kassah (2010) looked at Southern Tunisia, Côte (2002) at the Souf, Schmit (2008)
at the Mzab and Bencherifa and Popp (1992) at the Todra valleys in Algeria and the
Drâa in Morocco. They all highlight the role of centralized public policies in the
creation of a new socio-spatial order, as well as the failures of efforts to implement
sustainable development in these oases.
4 Old French New Town located in Nord-Isere, south-east of Lyon (France), whose creation was
decided in 1968.
243
city. The philosophy on which Isle d’Abeau
4 was developed is to enable people
to organize themselves instead of responding to external requests to organize. This
approach, while not unique, was well-suited to L’Isle d’Abeau where the population is
committed to building and managing its own development projects (Hominal 1982).
These social technologies are not only useful in their direct role in addressing
social needs, but also because they facilitate new relationships among different stakeholders. This frames the current study on the arid southwestern Algerian region, with
emphasis on identifying the actors who are effective social “translators” between state
planners and the social networks that take up these innovations.
In the Sahara of North Africa, the development of the oasis areas is increasingly
complex. Despite their small surface area compared to the size of the desert, oases
play a fundamental role in maintaining the population in the great south of the
Maghreb (Bisson 1996). Extensive research on this topic has been contributed by
French geographers (Despois 1967; Bisson 1996 and 2003) as well as German (Suter
1959) scientists, who considered natural constraints, including water scarcity, in
Saharan environments. Richter (1995) proposed a typology of oases based on four
oasis resources: springs at the foot of a mountain, on rivers, in the foggara and with
drainage tunnels. Water mobilization techniques are different in each setting, but
have common requirements for effective water management. Sociological studies
of the oases of the Maghreb note a stratification based on race (Touat, Gourara,
Ouarzazat, Tafilalet) and/or other ethnic criteria (Ghardaïa). Marouf (1980, 2010a, b)
and Moussaoui (2011) highlight inequalities in access to water and agricultural land,
with land and foggara in these oasis societies considered socially inferior because it is
traditionally the domain of a class of black descendants of slaves from Sub-Saharan
Africa. In contrast, land and water ownership is often reserved for Chorfa (nobility).
This distinction, extant since the Middle Ages, has diminished markedly since the
independence of the Maghreb countries but still arises, for example, in marriage
between men and women belonging to different groups, sharing of natural resources
or in local power politics. Studies of transformations that have impacted society and
the environment in a profound way have served as interesting laboratories to observe
the evolution of the relationship between society and its environment. For example,
Kassah (2010) looked at Southern Tunisia, Côte (2002) at the Souf, Schmit (2008)
at the Mzab and Bencherifa and Popp (1992) at the Todra valleys in Algeria and the
Drâa in Morocco. They all highlight the role of centralized public policies in the
creation of a new socio-spatial order, as well as the failures of efforts to implement
sustainable development in these oases.
4 Old French New Town located in Nord-Isere, south-east of Lyon (France), whose creation was
decided in 1968.