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Argan (Argania spinosa) is an endangered species that plays a vital role in resisting the ever-creeping Sahara Desert. The trees are also found in Algeria and have been successfully introduced to Israel but Morocco is the only nation that hosts a meaningful scale. Morocco’s argan forests cover about 800,000 hectares near the Souss Valley, an area framed by the Atlas Mountains, Atlantic Ocean and Sahara Desert, which hosts roughly 21 million trees and has been given UNESCO protection as a ‘biosphere reserve’

Bougainvillea a tropical, shrub-like vine

Yellow Bells, Trumpet Flower 'Gold Star' (Tecoma Stans)

Argan tree (Argania spinosa)

How is argan oil produced? Today argan oil is often

made by machines. Sadly these foreign

investors have undermined the

traditional role that Moroccan women have played in the

traditional production of argan oil.

The government has encouraged, however, the

formation of women’s groups to ensure that

the age-old art of argan oil extraction is not lost. The work is tedious and takes

many hours to make a single liter

Argan Nuts: the dried fruit and the nuts

In the last decade or so, argan oil has become a

cult beauty product in the

U.S. A 1.7-ounce bottle of Josie

Maran 100 percent Argan

Oil, for example, retails for $48. The production

process, however, does not involve goat

excrement—these days, argan

oil intended for export is

produced by women’s

cooperatives in southwest

Morocco, who gather the fruit

straight from the trees

Argan Nuts Offering dried argan fruits

Argan fruit falls in July, when black and dry. Until this happens, goats are kept out of the argan woodlands by wardens. Rights to collect the fruit are controlled by law and village traditions. The leftover nuts are gathered after consumption and excretion by the goatsThe dried fruits are collected and stored for several months to allow time for the oil to peak

After the dried fruits are

collected and stored for several months to allow time for the oil to peak, the fruits must then be

decorted

This is done in stone-age

fashion. The dried fruits are separated from

the nuts by hitting them with a hand

held rock up against a larger

rock

Argan Nuts: the dried fruit casings and the nuts

The hard shelled nuts are then

banged in a similar fashion to until they

crack open and reveal the tiny

slivers of “almonds” inside

Argan tree fruit is cut open to extract the almond which will be torrefied and crushed. The hard argan nut shell is broken open by women hitting the nuts with a stone hammer that splits the nuts on the seam

The Argan seeds are then lightly toasted over charcoal in flat iron or terra cotta pans, and ground in stone mills into a thick paste.If the oil is to be eaten the “almonds” are then roasted over an open fire. If used for cosmetic oil the “almonds” are not. The nuts are then put into a small stone mill which is hand turned to turn the “almonds’ into paste 

For producing Culinary Argan oil, the Argan nuts are being roasted first on an open fire and then grinded using a stone mill. This produces oil with a deep nutty flavor and scent

Traditional argan oil

The nuts are then put into a small stone mill which is hand turned to turn the “almonds’ into paste

The almond is crushed into a paste

Traditionally stone mills For producing Cosmetic Argan oil, the Argan nuts are pressed (usually by machine) without being roasted, also called "cold pressed". This produces a very light oil without that deep nutty scent

Next the paste is mixed with a little boiling water and hand kneaded for a few hours until the oil starts to

separate from the paste. The oil is

then hand squeezed from

the paste until as much oil can be

wrung out as possible. The oil is then filtered

and bottled. The remaining oil is cake is then fed

to livestock

Yellow Bells, Trumpet Flower 'Gold Star' (Tecoma Stans)

Plumbago Imperial Blue - Plumbago Auriculata

2017

Text: InternetPictures: Internet Sanda Foişoreanu Sanda Negruțiu Gabriela BalabanCopyright: All the images belong to their author

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanuhttps://plus.google.com/+SandaMichaela

Sound: Aicha Maya 2016