Dignity as Tunisia’s Greatest Export

Safouane Ben Haj Ali
Oct 3
2 min read

Updated: Oct 6

Elderly man in traditional chechia hat standing proudly in downtown Tunis, surrounded by people and historic buildings.

When people think of Tunisia’s exports, they name olive oil, Deglet Nour dates, foutas, or harissa. But behind every jar, fabric, or weave lies something larger: dignity.

In 2011, when Tunisians filled the streets, they weren’t asking for charity. They were demanding dignity; in work, in trade, in life. That revolution did not only change politics. It revealed Tunisia’s greatest contribution to the world: the insistence that worth cannot be erased.

Tunisia’s Pattern: Always Exporting Systems

Look closely at Tunisia’s history, and a pattern emerges:

Carthage exported law and trade networks across the Mediterranean.
Ibn Khaldun, born in Tunis, exported the system logic of sociology centuries before the word existed.
2011 exported a new idea to the world: that dignity is non-negotiable.

Tunisia does not only export goods. It exports systems. And every system points back to the same root: dignity.

Dignity in Objects

UNESCO recognized Tunisian harissa, Sejnane pottery, couscous, and Djerba island as world heritage. These recognitions are not about lifestyle trends. They are confirmations that Tunisia produces objects and traditions that protect worth, memory, and fairness.

When you use a fouta, you touch continuity.

When you pour olive oil, you taste dignity.

When you hold a rug, you hold centuries of labor that refused shortcuts.

The revolution was not separate from these objects. It was the same demand, written in the street instead of clay or wool.

My Chakchouka: Extending the Logic

At My Chakchouka, we work without middlemen. Every artisan sets their price. Every object travels directly from the hands that made it.

This is not a business model. It is the continuation of Tunisia’s system of dignity. The same spirit that filled the streets in 2011 is alive in the fouta on your table, the spoon in your kitchen, the rug at your feet.

Buying directly is not just commerce. It is participation in Tunisia’s export of dignity.