Jessour
Jessour is an ancient runoff water harvesting technique widely practiced in the arid highlands (figure 6, Photo 2), which are dominated by outcroppings of calcareous formations and depositions of quaternary calcareous silt (loess). Average annual rainfall ranges from 100 to 200 mm, but annual rainfalls of 80 and 700 mm have been observed (Fersi, 1985). About 400,000 ha are covered by jessour, particularly in the Matmata mountain chain (El Amami 1984). This technique was described in detail by Abi El Abbes Naffoussi, who died in 1110, in his book "Land rights" (cited by Ben Ouezdou et al., 1999).
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Fig 4: Scheme of the Jessour components (a: spillway, b: side view) (adapted from El Amami, 1984). |
Photo 1: Jessour in the mountains of Benikdache |
