They Came Back: Inward

They Came Back: Munir

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Munir: I will go back to Tunisia

One consistent thing about Tunisia, is that it is full of surprises. After meeting Munir in a café, we kept bumping into each other at random points of our little town. His kind demeanor and great English made him easy to talk to. After several dinners and cups of coffee, Munir story began to grow on me.  I met up with him to hear how he came to learn English and how and discover some of the factors that led him to come back to the country he was born in.  Sure, he doesn’t fit the profile of my normal guest here on Multiply Tunisia but that is part of the surprise and part of the reason that Tunisia so interesting.  

They Came Back: Mariyam

Mariyam: Dar Omma

A country home in Makthar

Green rolling hills, apple and cherry trees, these images are not what you would expect to find in Tunisia. But in the northeast of the country, an ancient little town called Makthar doesn’t fit within the normal picture of Tunisia.  About 3 hours west of Tunis, Myriam and her partner Kareem are managing a small country home nestled in the green wheat fields.  I took some time to explore the area, eat some good food and find out the motivation for Myriam to come back to Tunisia and manage a country home so far from the beaten path.  Next to a crackling fire,r I picked up on a subtle but powerful emotion.  Hope is the heartbeat of this episode.

They Came Back: Zakher

Zakher: The question of conservation.

Growing up in America, conservation was simply apart of life.  It was taught in school, promoted on the TV, experienced in field trips and family vacations. One of my first jobs was a clerk at a local department store and one of my duties was to issue hunting licenses to the sportsmen who would make there was to my home in the central Midwest.  Basically, conservation is an industry, and for good or bad its very much a part of the social conversation in the US.  The same isn’t the case for Tunisia.  Please don’t get me wrong.  Tunisians in general very much love nature and enjoy outings to the coasts and mountains.  But the conversation about societies role in conservation is largely silent.  That’s why I was so excited to meet Zakher and hear how he is playing an active role in calling the Tunisian public to engage in conservation, while doing what he can to influence Tunisian attitudes and policies towards the protection of it natural resources. 

They Came Back: Malik

Malik: Tissue.tn

Tunisia’s first digital market place for textile sourcing, selling fabric and haberdashery.

Malik has a charismatic personality, a friendly attitude, and a great command of the English language. Its qualities like these that have given him opportunities to travel, see the world and study abroad. I met Malik at a weekly English hour event and was drawn in by his story.  We met up at Ben Rahim Coffee in SidiBou Said for a cup of coffee and a conversation about how he decided to come back to Tunisia and implement his ideas here.   

They Came Back: Inward

InWard

Whole, Live and Raw Cuisine in Tunis

My wife and I travel a lot and one of the joys of traveling is discovering good food.  We are constantly scanning the socials looking for tips on local eats and great atmosphere.  Ambiance, attention to detail and presentation all go into making a meal and experience. 

For those of you who live in Tunis, you understand how things are discovered here…its by word of mouth from a trusted source…or sometimes by complete accident.  My wife and I were checking out a new store that specialized in Asian products and we picked up a small package of tofu.  We noticed the sticker on the package and looked it up on Instagram. That is how we discovered Inward, a whole plant, live and raw restaurant located here in Tunis.  We visit the restaurant few days later where we met the owner and chef of Inward.  We were so inspired by Fatima’s, food her attention to detail and her story, we had to get an interview.