The Rock Round Palace, a unique feature of Ksar Drâa in Algeria, is not only an architectural marvel but also a symbol of the diverse communities that once lived in this desert oasis. Built from locally sourced materials like adobe and stone, the palace reflects the traditional vernacular architecture of the region, blending harmoniously with the harsh Saharan landscape.

For much of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the ksar, including the Rock Round Palace, was home to a significant Jewish community.

Jews, alongside Berber and Arab families, lived in this fortified village, contributing to local trade and crafts. The Jewish presence in the ksar was an important part of the region’s cultural and social life.

However, after Algeria’s independence from France in 1962, the situation for Jews in the country changed dramatically. The new government, led by the FLN (National Liberation Front), sought to build a unified national identity, often at the expense of minority groups, including Jews.

The Jewish community, seen as linked to the French colonial period, became targets of violence and hostility. Attacks on Jewish homes and businesses, threats, and the desecration of synagogues and cemeteries forced many to flee to other countries.

This violent shift in the social and political landscape pushed many Jews to emigrate.

A significant number of Algerian Jews moved to France, where there was already a large Algerian Jewish community, while others moved to Israel, joining the broader migration of North African Jews who faced persecution in their homes.

The persecution, combined with the fear of further violence, led to the gradual abandonment of Ksar Drâa and other similar ksars.

Today, the Rock Round Palace stands as a historical site, a reminder of the diverse cultural heritage that once thrived in the region. Videos circulating on Youtube suggest that anyone off the street can wander inside and around the citadel suggesting it’s not being protected well for future generations.

The remnants of Jewish life, visible in old houses and synagogues, add to the richness of its story and highlight the multicultural history of Ksar Drâa. Let’s hope that one day people of all religions will find safety in any place they call home.

Love vernacular architecture? Read our review of Habitat, the bible of vernacular architecture.

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Africa’s largest silver mine has been operating in the Atlas mountains since 1969, but the Berber people living in the surrounding villages remain among the most poverty-stricken people in Morocco. Now Movement on the Road ’96 are living in an “occupation” camp to protest a silver mine’s water use and pollution. They are also fighting for a fair share in the nation’s resource .
Since August, 2011, the group of activists from Imider, who call themselves Movement on the Road ’96, have been living in an occupation camp on Mount Alebban in order to protest the mine’s polluting practices.

While Africa’s resources are historically usurped by international companies, the Imiter Mettalurgic Company operating the silver mine is mostly owned by Morocco’s royal family, according to the New York Times. Which makes the lack of a sufficient “trickle down” effect perhaps more egregious.

“The king forgot about us. He tours the country helping people, and he never comes to this region,” one woman told the New York Times: “He is our father, and he has forgotten about his children.”

The group claims that the mine has used up more than their fair share of water, depleting aquifers that the agricultural communities in the area use for their terraced crops.

Read here about how the Berber’s had a perfect water use system in place.

Backed in part by the Free Academy in Rome (LAR), the Movement on the Road ’96 also claims that the toxic byproduct of the mining process, including cyanide and mercury used to treat the ore, has caused disease, killed livestock and exacerbated desertification.

“…even small plots at the foot of the mountain seem doomed to due to the shortage of water and poisons from the mine,” according to LAR.

Morocco’s Berbers are historically independent, organized and resilient, and once enjoyed a deeply entrenched system of water management that has been disrupted by international groups in recent years. The mine is said to have taken up to 66 percent of the water allocated in a special system to each village.

In 2011, some of the villagers from Imider climbed the mountain to cut off water supply to the mine. This resulted in a 40 percent capacity loss in 2012 and a 30 percent loss 2013.

Meanwhile, Farid Hamdaoui, a mine manager, denied allegations that they are improperly disposing waste, and says that the mine recycles 62 percent of the water they use.

The group, which takes its name from a 1996 uprising that the government violently suppressed, is demanding that local employees should make up 75 percent of the total workforce. Independent commentators say this is impossible, and the company accuses the group’s organizers of turning down offers for a feasible employment ratio.

Hamdaoui insists that the mine spends $1 million a year on the local communities, but LAR says that since operations began in 1969, very few infrastructural improvements have taken place.

“At Imider there are no schools (except a small garrison basic), there is no electricity in most homes, the internet [or] even kiosks with newspapers, while the nearest hospital is located 200 km away (Ouarzazate).”

:: New York Times

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In 2009 I travelled to the High Atlas mountain region of Morocco to reach some friends that ran an eco-lodge in a very lonesome village with a wholesome lifestyle. The mother of Houssa, the owner of the eco-lodge, revealed the interesting methods used in the Berber tradition to manage their water supply. Sadly, these indigenous traditions have been falling apart since dam projects funded by the World Bank have disrupted local practices. “Now families are fighting over water, this was never the case in the past, our system was perfect, we don’t know why international organizations have come to help” Houssa’s mother said.

Water allocation methods 

Water allocation methods used by the Berbers depend on two things: Land Tenure and Time. First Land Tenure is divided by elevation and the paths of springs. Land above the spring is used for seasonal grazing and land below for agriculture and personal use. And the organization of land-ownership is designated by tribe – so any water issues that arise are discussed between different tribes.

Second, Berbers allocate water by time, not quantity. This is true whether the allocation is between villages, between lineages (large extended family units), or between individual users. Careful allocation schedules are decided unanimously and set by days of the week.

So, three days for the upstream riparian and four for the downstream riparian, then by days between villages and finally hours between family lineages. This is because different times of the day have different evaporation rates throughout the year, so the schedule is methodologically designed to respect the natural water flow while ensuring fair allocation for all.

Allocating water benefits by time vs. volume

Allocating by time rather than volume has two benefits. The first is sustainability: water allocation by time respects the fluctuations of water supply of the river due to climatic conditions. Water is allocated according to the rate of available water flow rather than according to estimated absolute quantity in volumetric terms.

Two units of time (hours for instance) equate different volumes of water depending on the season and climatic conditions, two units of volume  always equate to the same amount but do not follow the rates of water flow (availability). The Berber system avoids the kind of over-allocation that has been happening along the Colorado River and has resulted in a perpetual shortage.

This system encourages greater efficiency of water use. For instance, Berbers deal with a fluctuating supply of water by prioritizing. The highest priority is drinking water for humans and animals, followed by irrigation water and water for mills. Irrigation water brought to land through modern means and to bring new lands into cultivation is given the least priority.

Finally, water allocation can be bought and sold through units of time rather than volume; this avoids the need for storage and again respects the effective quantity of water available in nature at that time.

International organizations do more harm than good

Although it is true that these methods may only be efficient when populations are relatively small and manageable, it is also obvious that these indigenous methods have worked relatively well up till now and that “modern” initiatives may disrupt the system and create tensions between families, villages and tribes – creating new problems.

The international preoccupation with reaching the seventh millennium development goal: “Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation,” risks indigenous watershed management systems being hastily overlooked.

This may result in international organizations, that mean well, doing more harm than good. In this specific case, local farmers argue that the World Bank’s initiative to build new dams has destroyed secular water allocation methods because some of the streams have dried up.

The moral of the story is very simple: more than “Think before you act” or “Look before you leap,” International organizations should actively observe and seek to integrate their initiatives with local practices. Of course, this is perhaps easier said than done.

More on Berber Culture and Tradition:

Semi-Sustainable Berber Agriculture

Making Cobras Swoon is Not so Charming

Moroccan Love Potion Spiced With Pot

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