« Chacun a droit à sa part ». Une lecture genrée de la production et distribution des olives au sud du Maroc

Abstract

The olive harvest season creates a temporality and a landscape that shape social and economic relations. This moment of collective effervescence around an agricultural activity emblematic of the Mediterranean area offers an interesting perspective for thinking about the negotiation of social relations in this region. In the Sous region of Morocco, as elsewhere, the gendered division of agricultural work and the unequal distribution of resources and the bounty of production are at the heart of the construction of gender dynamics. Following the path of the olives harvested in the village of Aoulouz, this article sheds light on these social constructions. The fruits are first cultivated by the tree’s owners, harvested by familiar or employed hands, then transported, shared, pressed and sold by others, who are more or less visible in the process. This article is the result of an investigation which took place in various olive groves and in the house of an olive-cultivating family during the winter of 2019. Specifically, an ethnography of the different protagonists and scenes of the harvest provides insights into the social roles and assignments which set the stage for an unequal distribution of the harvest’s fruits. At the core of these disparities, gender dynamics play an important role in the distribution of tasks and benefits of the harvest, from the fields to domestic spaces. By taking particular interest in a little explored sector and by stepping inside olive producers’ homes, this article provides keys for understanding the gender based unequal social constructions, and the transformations at work in the rural areas of the Morocco.

Keywords

• Rural Morocco; olive growing; harvest; seasonal agricultural work; access to resources and land; women; gender.