Following the general account of the relation of the population to property and to the market, I present more detailed material on the economic organisation of two ksoury Aghzim and Bentaleb, noting that there are marked social and economic inequalities among ksar residents. Relations between the ksour have been affected by the intrusion of the Makhzen, and with it of institutions related to the market economy – shops, schools. Nevertheless certain areas of social life, such as marriage, are still governed by regional and estate interests.

I go on to discuss the economic organisation and occupational structure of a quarter in Akhdar town, and to contrast the economic and social conditions prevailing in town and ksar respectively.

The valley and the ‘ksour’

The stream which sustains the ksour runs northwards from the mountains. In the spring, it collects the melting snow, often flooding its banks and ruining riverside fields. It is harnessed to run water-mills – several operate in each riverside ksar. In the summer it is channelled off to irrigate lucerne fields, and in the autumn the wheatfields before the ploughing begins.

Aghzim and Bentaleb, my host ksour, are built on a rocky hill which drops steeply on three sides, leaving the fourth one to slope more gradually towards the north. Bentaleb on the east side of the hill commands the river running at its base.