The Aït Baâmrane region consists of a confederation of tribes that live in the mountainous Southwestern territory bordering the Atlantic Ocean. The rural population of 65,000 inhabitants is distributed across 348 villages (2014 census) with the town of Sidi Ifni as the symbolic capital of the region. Shepherds tend to their livestock and produce grains, barley in particular. The fruit of the cactus plant, the prickly pear, is also cultivated. Bee keeping and the production of argan products  are  activities  practiced widely  across  the  59,000  hectares  of  the region. These activities provide a source of additional income. The region depends on an agricultural way of life with its roots in subsistence farming, a lifestyle increasingly difficult to maintain today. Due to its location at the gateway of the Sahara, this region has long been an obligatory point of passage on the trading route along Oued-Noun. From the 19th century until the beginning of the 20th, caravans originating from Essaouira and Marrakech would take this passage on their way to the Mauritanian Adrar and vice-versa. Other ancient towns along the route included Tamdoult U Aqa, Tagaoust, Noul Lamta, Mast, Taroudant, Marrakech in the Oued Noun and Souss regions, and Azougy and Aoudaghost in Mauritania.

The

The Aït Baâmrane region covers an area of 1,310 km². This large region is distinguishable by its natural borders and delineations: the Atlantic Ocean and the pre-Sahara to the West and the Anti-Atlas  Mountain  chain,  made  of  solid  rock  with  peaks  that  run  from  South-West  to North-East. It is a semi-arid region, with a Mediterranean climate, and sunshine year-round. Aït Baâmrane is characterized by irregular rainfall in the cool winter, and nearly no rainfall during the hot, dry summer, total rainfall amounts to only one-eighth of the national average. A curious bi-annual  rainfall  pattern  oscillates  intermittently  from  one  year to the next, meaning that western-facing slopes bordering the Sahara can be inundated with rain, whilst in the summers, dry easterly (East-South) winds
(chergui) parch the entire area, with the exception of a coastal strip neighboring the Atlantic that remains relatively humid. The average annual precipitation is 170 mm. The atmospheric pressure created by the Azores anticyclone and the cold current emanating from the Canary Islands in conjunction with the mountainous relief of the zone, work together to encourage a humid fog to develop; particularly from December to June. A natural

forest covers 63,000 Ha of the area, of which there are 59,000 Ha of Argan and 16,000 Ha of Euphorbia. Beyond the forest, there are vast expanses of cacti, including varieties unique to the region. Aknari, the fruit of the cactus plant (prickly pear), which has recently become a valuable commodity, is cultivated during a six-month period.

The site of the town Sidi Ifni was occupied by the encampment of Amzdough douar, which housed the Imstiten tribe in pre-modern times. Three years after 1934, when the Spanish occupation officially began, the site was transformed into a dynamic township boasting over 600 edifices. The population grew rapidly, and the burgeoning town’s infrastructure was quickly improved to include roads, town squares and numerous buildings. Three years before the Spanish occupation ended in 1966, the town began its expansion on the North Bank of the river, into what would become Colomina and Barrillo Agulla. During the military insurrection against the Spanish Republic in 1936, the territory fell under the control of the fascist nationalist military. Essentially,  the  Spanish  military  mobilized  native soldiers amassed from the Tabores and Tiradores of Sidi Ifni into six battalions (if one includes the territory of the Sahara and Sidi Ifni).

The  participation  of  the  tribes  of  Aït  Baâmrane  proved  decisive  to  the  victory  of  the fascist-nationalists.   These   nationalists   overwhelmed   the   Baamrani   tribes  with  intense, religiously-motivated propaganda in order to fuel the fire against their designated enemy, who was described as an enemy of God. Since Morocco gained independence from French colonization in 1956, the pressure on Spain to rescind their occupation of Moroccan territory became more intense. Serious border incidents occurred, with the Armée de Libération of Ifni and the Sahara (The Liberation Army of Ifni and the Sahara) conducting attacks in the territory between November 1957 and July 1958. Members of the Tiradores of Sidi Ifni and the territorial police were relieved of their duties and the territory was reduced to the town of Ifni – a domain which spanned just 9 km in depth inland from the coastline.

The town of Sidi Ifni prospers from a micro-climate considerably less harsh than the climate inland, due to the dense fog which engulfs it for long periods of the year. The proximity of the Sahara is however, obvious in the local flora and fauna, and is discernible in the intermittent blasts of hot desert wind. The first sea port was built in 1960, and consisted of a 1.5km cable transporting goods inland from small cargo ships. The choice of port was dictated by the problems  posed  by  sand,  which  is a permanent obstacle for ports based in the Sahara, including in Ifni. The town has a fishing port which only merely benefits the region since the catch is dispatched for the factories of Agadir. The airport dates to the Spanish era and today represents a 1 km² derelict area where a market is held on Sundays. The Spanish presence is still visible in Place Hassan II, the old Plaza de España features a little park adorned with a fountain which no longer flows and traditional Andalous mosaic features. Nearby is a stunning

Pagadora (now falling apart), the cinema Avenida, the Santa Cruz Church now transformed into a courthouse, the lighthouse and the Palacio Real – the old residence of the Spanish Governor General and used today also to house the Moroccan governor of the region.