A rare oil from the Atlas Mountains traditionally made by Moroccan Berber tribes is now processed and available in Israel.

 

Argan oil, rich in vitamin E and fatty acids, has become the sensation of the decade, sought after by chemists, dieticians, hair salons, chefs and cosmeticians. But the argan tree takes 15 years to yield nuts, and one tree can yield only a couple of liters of oil, making production costly and limited.

 

In addition, the argan tree could not grow outside of Morocco - until now. An Israeli company, Sivan, has founded a business based on Argan 100, a "super" strain of argan developed in Israeli nurseries that is tolerant of the Mediterranean climate and can produce 10 times more nuts than the average tree in Morocco. "We are the only company that knows how to raise argan trees and to bring them to market professionally so that every year we will know how much oil to expect," says company's chief agronomist Chaim Oren.

 

 

Legend has it that argan oil could only be processed from the nut - which looks like an unripe olive - after its hard shell was removed via a goat's digestive tract. But based on 25 years of intriguing field research, Sivan was founded in 2007 and now sells Moroccan-grown argan oil to wholesalers from its own groves, with small quantities of leftovers sold online. Once the Israeli trees produce mature fruit, the oil is to be sold from Israel as well. And there is no need for goats to apply for the job as middlemen.

 

 

Oren suspects the legend began because goats do enjoy eating healthful argan nuts (as do many gourmets around the world) and would jump in the trees to help themselves. So as not to waste the precious oil inside, those goat-eaten "processed" nuts would be gathered and ground for oil.
 
"Most of the companies in Morocco that make it today - I don't think they collect it from the goats," he says. But he does suggest that some of the argan oil from Morocco is watered down with less valuable oils, making its therapeutic effects, and taste, less potent. He believes Sivan's is the only oil guaranteed to be 100 percent pure.

 

Meanwhile, about 2,500 argan trees have been planted in the Ashkelon, Arava and Negev regions, areas where date palms typically grow. Oren explains that Sivan reproduces clones from the mother tree using cuttings. The eventual plan is to sell the Argan 100 to other countries in the market. The increased yield of nuts also may provide a bit of competition to the cottage industry in Morocco.

 

 

"I was exposed to the argan trees many years ago, and we did a breeding session in Israel," Oren says. "We pollinated trees with other trees and managed to produce better trees than the ones in Morocco. Ours are resistant to soil disease, giving these trees a steady yield every year."

 

The horticultural endeavor also may take argan trees off the slippery slope of extinction. The United Nations' conservation body UNESCO has set up reserves to protect argan trees in Morocco. One source says that until not long ago they were being chopped down for firewood, and were overgrazed by argan-loving goats. Fifty years ago there were twice as many argan trees in Morocco, but new sustainable awareness projects are educating the locals and happy customers who buy the products for eating and cosmetics.

 

Sivan's Ramat Hasharon-based business can help argan oil become a more sustainable commodity by raising production. "Only we have the knowledge to take cuttings and create [high] fruit [yields]. This is something that nobody else in the world knows," Oren boasts. Not even the goats.