Tunisian 'revolution oasis' palm grove thrives on self-rule

SINCE the inhabitants of Jemna in southern Tunisia wrested control of their 100-year-old palm grove from the state during the 2011 Revolution, residents say their lives have radically improved.

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The desert town - where the palms produce some of the North African country’s finest dates - ejected businessmen tied to the old regime when the uprising toppled long-time ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Jemna, population around 8 000, has since become a unique grassroots experiment in Tunisian agricultural self-management - a non-profit project run by a local community to reinvest all benefits locally.

Residents founded the Association to Protect the Jemna Oasis (Asoj) which runs the grove where 57-year-old Abdelbasset Abed works full-time, along with some 50 other people.

During harvest season, the 12 000 date palms provide work for 160 people — 10 times more than before.

Two-thirds of these are seasonal workers.

“The situation is a lot better than before,” said Abed as he cleared away dry branches at the foot of a towering date palm.