DNP handicrafts
Crafts and gathering, among the different socio-economic activities in the park – fishing, breeding, market gardening, crafts/gathering –, liven up the daily lives of more than 300 women divided into 16 cooperatives. The picking activity allows, among other things, to harvest the famous stems of Sporobolus robustus, used for making traditional Mauritanian mats. Highly sought after for their nutritional properties, the seeds of water lilies are prepared and consumed in food in the form of couscous or in rice, or transformed into flour. We can also cite the recent introduction of the manufacture of local soap based on species present in the PND.
The different artisanal products of the PND
The making of traditional mats
Perpetuating gathering and craft activities in the PND: a vector of cultural conservation
Water lily seeds
The water lilies are harvested each year by women's cooperatives, from the end of October or the beginning of November to January-February. These harvests are quite abundant, making it possible to produce 350 to 600 kg of water lily seeds (knowing that one kg of water lily head = 150 grams of marketable seeds).
Following this harvest, women take care of the processing of these seeds, which requires 12 or 13 precise steps to arrive at the finished product, ready to be marketed (water lily seeds or flour)! All of these stages require approximately 6 to 7 days of full work, but this can actually be spread over a period of 1 to 2 months (rest time required between certain stages, or no capacity in terms of people, time and physical effort required to complete it in less time). We count 12 cooperatives operating in the picking and processing of water lilies, with an average of 22 or 23 active women per cooperative.
A healthy, natural and artisanal product
- A product rich in fiber, minerals and vitamins
- A product low in sugar, perfect for a healthy diet (suitable and recommended for people with diabetes)
- A product to consume alone, as in couscous, or mixed with rice ; cooking in water
Handmade soaps made from local species
The production of artisanal soaps was recently introduced to the PND (since July or August 2021 only). Determined, hardworking and enterprising, producer Khadijettou Moussa Ba followed training in Senegal on soap production, and had the idea of setting up some in her village, in Sbeikha Bariel to the PND, by creating a dedicated women's cooperative.
- A product handcrafted from plant extracts from the cooperative's village area : neem leaves (Azadirachta indicates), lemon leaves, balsamite cucumber leaves (momordica balsamina), branches of euphorbia (Euphorbia balsamifera)
- A product with many benefits for the skin : Neem is traditionally used in Ayurveda for its antifungal and antibacterial properties. Balsamite cucumber is known for skin disorders, and euphorbia as an antiseptic and healing.
- A composition clean and natural : water, sodium hydroxide, cooking oil, olive oil, neem extracts (Azadirachta indicates), lemon, cucumber balsamite (Momordica balsamina), euphorbia (Euphorbia balsamifera). And that's all !
- A product that supports an initiative that contributes to the empowerment of women, and local development