Tunisians observing Ramadan turn to snails as meat prices soar

Tunisian restaurant owner Wahida Dridi washes snails as she prepares iftar for her customers.

"They are boiled first, then removed from the water, which is used to cook pasta or vermicelli. You can cook what you want with it. It’s very delicious and has many benefits,” she says.

The evening meal, breaking the fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, usually includes red meat.

But as prices soar, snails have become a protein staple for many Tunisians that can no longer afford to buy meat.

A kilogramme of snails costs $9, half the price of beef, which has soared to $18 amid the country’s worst economic crisis in decades.

As Wahiba stirs a pot of peppery gastropods, she extols their virtues.

"If people knew the value of snails, they would eat them all year long," she says.

Once a niche delicacy, snails are now being sold alongside meat and vegetables at the market in the town of Akouda.

They are selling like hotcakes to cash-strapped families, and some even buy them out of choice.

"Snails are better for cooking than lamb. If lamb meat costs $19, a bowl of snails is $1.60. And it’s medicinal. They feed on rosemary and thyme,” says Mohammed, a resident in the town.

In the muddy fields outside Akouda, 29-year-old Kamal spends hours collecting snails, a job that sustains him and other unemployed youth.

Each harvest earns him a few dinars.

"Many young people from our area work in this field [collecting snails] now. Many people. It’s profitable, beneficial, and quite in demand," he says.

Amid the economic crisis, the snails are not only a lifeline for families marking Ramadan but also for the harvesters in a country where unemployment is one of the highest in the region.