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Tunisian Economy's Key Chauffeur Henna Losing Its Allure As Red Gold

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The paste is used to color hair, palms, arms and feet with easy patterns that last for a month or so.Gabes, Tunisia: In and around the Tunisian seaside city of Gabes, henna has actually long been a crucial chauffeur of the economy-- a lot so that the plant is called red gold .

A water crisis and changing consumer routines are making farmers believe two times about planting henna shrubs, regardless of their desirable leaves that have for centuries been ground down to paint nails, tint hair and ink temporary tattoos, specifically for weddings.

Gabes is dying due to the fact that of the lack of water, states farmer Houcine Akrout, as he digs elaborate channels around his green plants to increase water circulation in the early morning sunlight.Akrout is hard at work, because the regional water system will today run from a canal onto his land-- an uncommon thing nowadays, due to government rationing.Urbanisation and rapidly rising demand for water from industry and farming have put enormous pressure on Tunisia's water reserves, according to the World Bank.And a 2016 study of Tunisia's water services moneyed by Sweden's government found that losses from the irrigation network reach 40 to 50 percent.For farmers like Akrout, that indicates waiting 15 to 20 days for access to the water supply.

It's long for the henna plant which needs great deals of water, he tells AFP.The scenario is so bad he has uprooted the majority of his henna shrubs and changed them with pomegranate trees-- a much less thirsty types.

Henna does not make me any money, he says.

It isn't lucrative anymore and I require to live and support my household.

When it comes, the water supply costs 2.8 dinars ($1.10, 0.93 euros) per hour.In mid-summer, the wait can rise to 40 days, admits Amel Ghiloufi, head of the region's plants department at the agriculture ministry.And pollution of the water supply from a chemical plant has seen farmers abandon land in the sanctuary on the Mediterranean coast in current decades.Production down 20 per centThe water crisis is having a remarkable effect on henna output.Only 645 tonnes of the plant were harvested in the Gabes area in 2016/17 - down 20 percent from the previous season, Ghiloufi says.

But other factors, including a labour scarcity, are also driving the long-lasting decline.And it's not only supply side pressures that undermine the marketplace-- demand for local henna is likewise falling, as people choose foreign alternatives.Over the centuries, henna leaves have been dried and minimized to a great powder prior to being combined with water, to create the paste longed for by individuals in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.The paste is used to colour hair, palms of hands, arms and feet with basic patterns that last for a month or so.But the procedure can be unpleasant and individuals don't always wish to keep the art work for that long.So imports of a dealt with version of henna from Sudan, Yemen and India are significantly popular, with added chemicals limiting penetration of the skin and making it simple to clean from hands.

Ahead of wedding events, the ready-to-use dye is distributed in decorated boxes to guests at bachelorette parties.The processed imported variations are taking over from the local product.And while when popular as a grandmother's solution for anything from migraines to skin issues, younger people are more sceptical of henna's recovery powers.But for Ghiloufi the only way to restore the sector is to break new ground , by promoting henna's natural advantages and diversifying into brand-new markets.In the capital Tunis, hair shampoos based upon the plant have begun to discover their way into health stores.Only a few business owners sell Tunisian henna abroad-- and they do so without state support-- so exports are minimal, in spite of the great quality produced by Gabe's farmers, states Ghiloufi.'Out of fashion'In Jara, the primary tourist market in the centre of Gabes, big stalls overflow with henna and incense-- however the streets are empty.Traders complain that the trickle of tourists is insufficient to compensate for residents' disinterest.

Henna is offered all the year round.

Our market was constantly filled with clients who originate from all over Tunisia! states 85-year-old Hassen Mrabet, who has been growing and selling henna for half a century.

Now sales are limited to the wedding event season in July and August, he adds.Another trader bemoans the rising appeal of other appeal items and treatments, as lifestyles change.New kinds of dye and manicures have actually changed henna today , according to 49-year-old Ismail.

Tunisians have actually changed their practices and turned their backs on their customs; henna is out of fashion.

(Other than for the heading, this story has actually not been modified by TheIndianSubcontinent personnel and is published from a syndicated feed.)




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