In Siliana, a few kilometers from the archaeological site of Maktaris and Kesra, the highest village in Tunisia, in the distillation room of SAFIR company, stills and olive oil tanks look like giant sculptures . The smell of rosemary and old rose being sorted floats in the air. She does not cheat on the quality of the products that are handled here. A Visit to a temple of the good and the beautiful. By Amel DJAIT
Even though the Safir production site is not open to the public, it is still true that enjoying the products of the house is a pleasure that millions of consumers in Tunisia and around the world enjoy.
How can you resist the crunchiness of a purple Jdeïda artichoke, cut and packed with olive oil and rosemary? How not to become addicted to the hand-made barbecue salad, grilled to perfection, one pepper after another, methodically, as at home.
Here, we do not joke with tradition: “Our products must always retain their original taste and balance. We do things old-fashioned with total respect and almost sacred recipes in harmony with the expectations and habits of our customers, “says the production manager of the factory Safir Mansourah.
Remember one’s origins …
This immersion in the bowels of one of Tunisia’s most innovative agribusiness companies makes perfect sense at a time when the origin of a product has never been so valuable. Because if the reputation of the brand is more to do, especially after winning 8 medals at the 1 st National Competition of Terroir Products, not everyone has in mind its unique place of manufacture.
Even though it is mentioned on the containers that the products are made in a traditional way, it is hard to admit that this is true and you have to see it to believe it. Here, the products are telling themselves. By the quality they impose and the credibility they earn and forge a little more every day.
Here, we are not only going to meet products. We discover a culture, we seize a story. The story of a family that highlights a unique heritage: “We are nothing without our origins, our land, our water, our people … .Safir is the story of a great-grandfather who began his career in the distillation of rosemary, a product that will never stop producing. This is a legacy that is extremely valuable to us,” says Ayachi Zemmal, the company’s managing director.
Ayachi Zemmal is the young big boss of the company. He works with his family and is proud to be the “heritage” manager of the house. This weight he already shares with his 10-year-old son who is attending the village school and is already engaged in the research and development of Safir. It must be admitted that the company is much more than a production unit for agri-food products.
Here, patents are created for natural or organic cosmetics that are resold in more than 40 countries worldwide. Here, we do not hesitate to move the lines of agribusiness towards cosmetics, food supplements, …
Photo Credit: Pierre Gassin
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