Blog #2.16 Touring the Targant Museum

One of our trips outside of Agadir was to the Targant Center in Taghazout. The half-hour drive from Agadir was beautiful. The Targant Center is situated on top of a hill with views of the ocean shrouded in fog. Upon arrival at the museum, we were greeted by a breathtaking view.

The interior design was inspired by traditional Moroccan décor. The entryway was specially crafted with poufs to sit on, a family table with tajins, rugs, and tea sets.

After taking in the entry, in all its exotic décor, our guide came to show us around. We entered the first portion of the center, a cozy museum dedicated to Argan. To start, there was an atrium centered around a decorative recreation of an argan tree with branches reaching to the ceiling as if they were holding the roof up. Videos played discussing the history of Argan as we toured through the area.

Once the videos finished, we were guided behind a luxurious curtain to the second portion of the museum. This section had high ceilings to allow for the displays. One surprising feature was the 3D video of goats in an argan tree and a man speaking while he sat under the same tree.

The walls were meticulously crafted with maps, infographics, and models showing various stories of information related to argan trees. I found the maps particularly interesting since my project focuses on mapping details related to argan. The image below shows various tourists spots near the Targant Center. 

After the museum, there were women cracking nuts in the traditional fashion with stones. Visitors were welcomed to try cracking a few nuts alongside the women. After their turn cracking the nuts, Zach, Shaye, and Nora sat down and spoke with the women to learn more about their experiences working with Argan.

After the nut cracking, we were given samples of the products. We got to try honey, argan oil, and amalou. The three options were presented in mini tagines for us to dip the hobs in.

They discussed the methods of oil processing. We got to see some of the machines they used and a brief explanation of how each one was used.

The tour concluded with a visit to their gift shop featuring argan products. There were candles, oils, lotions, honey, amalou, perfumes, room sprays, books, clothes, gift boxes and so much more.

Written by Natasha Sutton USF Environmental Engineering Graduate Student