This expression, which means ‘ploughing by a camel’, is used to describe work that is not progressing, or is significantly behind schedule.
In other words, something quite common in Morocco!
One must imagine our poor camel in a field, struggling with its long legs and its amble, moving forward at a steady pace, pulling such a small plough from so high up.
Worse still if our camel is in its natural habitat, the desert. As soon as it digs, the sand settles back into place, and after a few minutes of wind, there is no trace of its passage! Like Sisyphus pushing his boulder up the hill…
Takerza, ⵜⴰⴽⴻⵔⵣⴰ, means ploughing. We recognise the ‘Z’ ⵣ, which has become the symbol of the Amazigh people. And alghem, ⴰⵍⵖⴻⵎ, means camel.
However, in other regions, this takerza n’olghem does an effective job!
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