ZEMCH 2015 - International Conference Proceedings | Page 120

houses with the local style of architecture (Fig.5 and Fig.6), houses are made of stones, sand and
mud. The unspoiled palm trunks are used for windows and ceilings. As they used the special natural components that keep the inside not affected by external temperature, they reduce the use
of electricity (Mustafa and Emam 2013). Yet, there are serious attempts to insert the solar panels
for electricity similar to reality in El-Hetan nature reserves.

Figure 5: The vernacular architecture in a private villa
Figure 6: The vernacular architecture in Zad El-Musafer Eco-lodge
It is important to note that the village has adopted an organic-waste management system depends on an agreement between the residences; farmers are using the organic waste as a natural
fertilizer in agriculture. It should also be noted that the non-organic waste, especially plastics,
are limited on what tourists are bringing with them from outside the village. The whole village,
including the eco-lodges is adopting the trend of reducing the trash production as much as possible. Pots for the kitchen and dining are made of mud, copper and metal, and all of the furniture
is based on natural raw materials. The environmental-style houses provide a solution to the problem of the high price raw materials. It is providing a low economic cost shelter with elements of
comfort, beauty and distinctiveness. Not only the houses, is Tunis famous for but also its environmental Eco lodges like Zad El-Musafer, Sobek and Zelal El-Nakheil (Mustafa and Emam 2013).
Villagers are seriously taking care of their farmlands (Fig.7) as they depend on them for the food
supplies. They are very interested in the preservation of biodiversity in their village and they are
aware of its importance as a tourism attraction.

Figure7: the extended green farm lands around Tunis village
The awareness that has spread in the village is the main reason for achieving a good level of sustainable development. Cars are very limited to 4X4 for safari trips in the desert which moves in
specific paths because of the natural reserves in the neighborhood and recently, the villagers are
trying to use the electrical oven instead of the diesel fuel in order to get rid of the only source of
air pollution in the village.

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ZEMCH 2015 | International Conference | Bari - Lecce, Italy