ALGIERS: Ibtissem Mahtout and Amira Messous pick fresh strawberries and tomatoes on the eco-friendly smallholding the two women are working near Algiers, a pioneering initiative in Algeria’s male-dominated agricultural sector. After graduating from university four years ago, they left the capital and started working on the small patch of land in Douaouda, some 30 kilometers (18 miles) to the west. “As soon as I’m in the field I’m happy,” said Messous, 28, holding a bundle of fresh beetroot.
“From morning to night, we’re here. To me, it’s the most beautiful job in the world.” The plant ecology and biodiversity graduates now run one of the country’s rare ecological plots of land, where the produce is grown in harmony with the broader ecosystem and without using pesticides.
Messous said it was challenging at first to “have to integrate” into a sector in which most people who work the land are men. According to local media, as of last October just four per cent of workers registered with the Chamber of Agriculture in Tipaza province where their land is were women. But some “male farmers are happy to see educated women working the land”, said Messous.
“They take the time to explain things to us, and it brings more value to their own work.” Her 29-year-old partner, Mahtout, recalls that they launched the project with just 60,000 Algerian dinars (around $445) - “enough to buy basic tools” - after renting the patch of land. With the help of Torba, .
