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The Depository documents 13 techniques in Tunisia; by risk level: 3 critically endangered, 4 endangered, 4 vulnerable, 2 stable. Each record opens with a public summary; the full research record is free to view once registered.
The hand-weaving of palm leaves into baskets, hats, mats, and cordage by artisans of Djerba, a small Mediterranean island off Tunisia's coast, dotted throughout with palm trees that supply the craft's raw material.
Hand-knotted pile carpets (zerbia) and short-nap flatweaves (mergoum, klim) woven by women in Kairouan, Tunisia's oldest and most renowned carpet center.
A lightweight woven carpet technique unique to Tunisia, positioned technically between a classic knotted pile carpet and a plain woven kilim, produced through a weft-substitution flatweave method inherited by Berber tribes of southern…
The manual, entirely hand-performed pollination of date palms in Tunisia's southern oases, centered on the Djerid region (Tozeur, Kebili) and the historic heartland of the prized Deglet Nour variety.
The preparation of harissa, Tunisia's national chili paste condiment, by sun-drying Baklouti red peppers, deseeding and grinding them, and seasoning the resulting paste with salt, garlic, and coriander using a pestle and mortar or manual…
The preparation of Arabic kohl, a fine black powder made from natural ingredients and applied as eyeliner by people of all genders across Tunisia and the wider Arab world, serving simultaneously as cosmetic, physical protection against…
Silver jewelry-making historically concentrated within Djerba's Jewish community, centered on the two Jewish enclaves of Hara Kebira and Hara Seghira, and distinguished by fine filigree work and, historically, enamel decoration considered…
The hand-engraving of copper, silver, and gold into jewelry, household objects, and decorative pieces in the souks of the Tunis medina, tracing roots to Carthaginian craft practice and shaped by centuries of Islamic, Mediterranean,…
Wheel-thrown terracotta pottery produced in Guellala, a village on the southern coast of Djerba island built directly atop rich clay deposits.
The entirely hand-built (wheel-less) production of terracotta pottery — cooking utensils, dolls, and environment-inspired animal figurines — by Berber women of Sejnane, a village in the green hills of northern Tunisia's Bizerte governorate.
The annual construction of a fixed, passive fishing system built entirely from dried palm fronds, embedded vertically in the seabed to form a triangular barrier that channels fish carried by the ebb tide into capture chambers (drina) and…
The carving and joinery of olive wood into furniture, kitchenware, utensils, and small everyday objects by carpenters of Sfax, whose historic carpenters' market, Souk El Najjarine, is specifically distinguished from other North African…
The production of the chechia, Tunisia's national brimless, cylindrical felted-wool cap, dyed vermilion red, through an extraordinarily distributed six-stage supply chain spanning multiple named towns and cities, each responsible for one…