Morocco · Food / Tobacco / Drink Processing
Zit Argan; extraction process amghar (Tashelhit/Amazigh terms vary by task)
The entirely hand-performed extraction of oil from the fruit of the argan tree (Argania spinosa), an endemic species found only in southwestern Morocco's Arganeraie Biosphere Reserve. Rural Amazigh women harvest and dry the fruit, remove the pulp, crack the exceptionally hard nut between two stones to extract the kernel, roast (for culinary oil) or leave raw (for cosmetic oil), grind the kernels in a stone hand mill, and knead the resulting paste with warm water in precise increments until the oil separates. A full liter of culinary oil requires roughly 15 hours of manual labor from about 30 kilograms of fruit.
Risk level: Vulnerable · Inscribed 2014 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (file 00955), covering the traditional extraction methods, uses, associated pharmacopoeia, and tool-crafting
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