Houmt Souk - Economy

Economy

Tourism, with its advantages and its disadvantages, brought a certain prosperity to the local population. The city counts a multitude of restaurants and souvenir shops which attract a varied crowd daily, with tourists coming mostly from Europe. The Houmt Souk economy rests primarily on the trade of the markets. Houmt Souk remains famous for its souk markets which attracts the inhabitants of the neighbouring localities as well as many tourists. There are several specialized markets that existing catering for cattle, fish, fruit and vegetables, herbs and spices, goldsmiths, antique dealers, ironmongers, etc. On the island each important locality has its own market day such as for example Friday for Midoun or Sunday for Guellala whereas Houmt Souk has two of them: Monday and Thursday.

The Tunisian Craft industry employees many craftsman. If the artisanal activities are varied in the city, those related to wool are perhaps the most popular among both men and women. One of the survivors of the Battles of Djerba said in 1560, according to a book reproduced by Charles Monchicourt “the inhabitants weave with fine wool of very beautiful baracans (covers) out of thin fabric, and decorate silk longer than an ordinary carpet”.

Weaving, performed on the island for over 1000 years grew during the 19th century which turned it into one of the principal textile centers for wool in all of North Africa, and remains, in spite of the competition of textile industries an important activity in Houmt Souk The wool industry employs a larger number of families and the activities range from washing in sea water, washing in the sun, then come carding, spinning, dyeing and then weaving followed by marketing. It is an important source of revenue as well for the female population although carding and the spinning mill of wool are traditionally female activities and dyeing, weaving and marketing traditionally carried out by the men. The manufacture of carpet with embroidery are traditionally female activities which developed considerably with the rise of tourism. The jewellery, formerly practised exclusively by the Jewish craftsmen (specialized especially in partitioned jewels encrusted with hard stones of various colors) is currently practised by young Muslim craftsmen. The work of leather, and in particular the shoe manufacture and the manufacture of bags in camel skins, as well as the basket making also developed with the new market offered by tourism.

Houmt Souk has one port, primarily oriented towards fishing. There are great quantities of earthenware jars in terra cotta which are used for the fishing with octopus, a delicacy of the people of Houmt Souk. The supply of engines and ensuring the traffic of the heavy goods and passengers between Tunis and Sfax is also performed at the port.

In 1964, Houmt Souk counted 297 boats and 746 "marins". The fish caught is sold fresh but certain species such as a small fish called ouzaf play a big role in the local gastronomy. A fish canning facility was built with the port to preserve the fish. In addition to fishing, the port is used nowadays for excursions towards the island of which is used as a refuge for migratory birds; in particular for pink flamingos and dolphins which can sometimes be observed off the city coastline. One of the traditions of Houmt Souk is the sale of fish through bidding and the shouting by the town crier. The fishermen thread fish fished in chains (between five and ten fish per chain according to the size of fish) and deliver it to the town crier after having been informed of the minimum price. The town crier, seated on a high chair, announces the basic price and even the slightest of movements from the crowd is seen as a signal for a bid.