Voice 1 Thank you for joining us for Spotlight, I'm Joshua Leo. Voice 2 And I'm Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1 You may recognize this sound. It is the sound of goats. Goats are animals similar to sheep. People keep goats for their milk, meat, and hair. Goats usually eat grass in a field. But in the country of Morocco, goats climb trees for food! These goats climb the argan tree. The goats help produce a special oil from the trees' seeds. Today's Spotlight is on this special oil that comes from the argan tree. Voice 2 Morocco is a country in Northwest Africa. Some areas of Morocco are very dry. In very dry conditions, there is not much food for animals to eat. A tree called the argan tree grows in many of these dry areas in Morocco. The trees are a source of food for some animals. Many families in Morocco own goats. When the goats do not have food to eat on the ground, they will climb into the trees for food.
Voice 1 Some people in Morocco use these goats to help them create oil. The goats first climb up into the tree to eat the small fruit there. They balance on the branches that come out of the tree. Other animals cannot climb into the trees because of the sharp thorns that cover the branches. These thorns do not hurt the goats because they have very hard feet.
Voice 2 The goats eat the fruit. The fruit passes through the goat in its waste. But the goats' waste contains a treasure for the people. It contains the seeds of the argan fruit. The goats make collecting the seeds easy. The people wash the seeds and break them open. Breaking the seeds is not easy. After the seeds are broken they grind the broken seeds with a stone. Grinding these seeds releases oil. This process takes a long time. In fact it may take up to one and a half days to make only one litre of oil!
Voice 1 Moroccans use this oil for many things. They add it to food to make the food taste better. And grinding the seeds for oil also creates a food. These ground up seeds make a dark paste, or thick fluid-like substance. People put bread into this paste and eat it. People also use the oil on their bodies. Some people mix the oil with lemon, a kind of fruit. They rub this substance on their body when it hurts. They also use the oil as a way to keep their skin soft. They rub the oil on dry skin. People even burn the oil to produce light Voice 2 But oil is not the only reason people love this tree. The Berber people who live in Morocco also call the argan tree the tree of life. This is because the Berber people use the tree in so many ways. Insects do not eat the wood of the tree. So some Berbers use it to build their homes. People use the wood as fuel for fire. They also sell beautiful boxes made from the wood.
Voice 1 But this tree does even more things for the Berber people. As we said before, Morocco is very dry in some areas. And the desert in Morocco is growing larger. Not many plants can grow in a desert. But the argan tree can. When early travelers first saw the argan forests in Morocco, they thought is was a very beautiful and special place.
Voice 2 And they were right! The argan forest in Morocco is a very special place. The argan forest helps to stop the spread of the desert. The strong roots of the tree hold soil together. In dry areas, strong winds can blow away soil. The argan forests stop this from happening. Most trees need a lot of water to stay alive, but the argan tree can survive when there is no water. The tree can go into dormancy, a kind of sleep, until there is water again.
Voice 1 The argan tree can live for a very long time. It takes around forty [40] to sixty [60] years for one to become an adult tree. And scientists say that the tree may live anywhere from two hundred [200] years to four hundred [400] years. But this long growing time can be a problem. If someone cuts down an argan tree, it would take a very long time for another one to grow in its place.
Voice 2 In the past ten [10] years, the argan forest has become smaller. More than one third of the forest is now gone. Some of the people use the tree too much. People are using too many argan seeds. People are not planting enough of the seeds to grow more trees. Also, too many people are cutting down the trees for firewood.
Voice 1 But, there is hope for the argan forest. UNESCO has declared the argan forest to be a World Heritage Site. UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, works to protect places that are important to humans all around the world. UNESCO is protecting the argan forest so people in the future can enjoy it.
Voice 2 People want to save these important trees. But the people who depend on the argan trees must also be able to survive. The Berber people need the argan tree to live. If they cannot use it, they may need to move from their homes.
Voice 1 The Berbers are working with a group of researchers to learn how to manage the trees better. The researchers are helping the Moroccan women find better ways to produce argan oil. They want to make sure that the argan forest is kept safe. But they also want to make sure that the Berbers get the money that they deserve for the oil.
Voice 2 People all around the world have become interested in argan oil. Many people want to buy the oil. Groups of women in Morocco have formed cooperatives. The women make sure that they can keep making the oil without harming the trees. This group of business-women work together to make sure that the oil is produced correctly. These cooperatives have helped save the argan forest and the Berber's way of life. Voice 1 The argan forest is something that is important to the world. It is good to see people working together to save this tree. Hopefully people in the future can also enjoy it.
Voice 2 The writer and producer of this program was Joshua Leo. Computer users can hear our programs, read our scripts, and see our word list on our website at www.radio.english.net. This program is called 'The Argan Tree'. We love to hear comments and questions from our listeners. If you have a comment or question, you can e-mail us. Our e-mail address is radio @ english . net. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye!
