Tanit Heritage Foundation connects partners and contributors with women entrepreneurs, local guides, and community-led tourism businesses across Tunisia — the desert villages, ancient medinas, and mountain communities that resort tourism never reaches.
WHY TANIT EXISTS
In July 2025, the U.S. government cancelled its $50 million Visit Tunisia initiative — a USAID program building alternative tourism and creating 15,000 jobs for women and local communities across the country. Tanit Heritage Foundation was created to continue that work.
OUR TARGETS
Tunisia is not a country short on assets. It has Saharan desert, Roman ruins, Berber mountain villages, ancient medinas, oasis towns, and a coastline that stretches 1,300 kilometers. What it has lacked is sustained investment in the local entrepreneurs — overwhelmingly women — who can build the tourism experiences that show visitors all of it.
We don’t build anything ourselves. We fund the people who already live there, already know the land, and already have the vision. Our grant programs give them the capital, training, and connections to turn that vision into a business that lasts.
SEE OUR GRANT PROGRAMS →
ECOTOURISM · DESERT & RURAL
Supports local operators building sustainable outdoor tourism in Tunisia's deserts, oases, and protected areas. Priority given to women-led businesses that keep economic benefit within the community.
LEARN MORE →
ARTISAN CRAFT · WORKSHOPS & CULTURAL TOURISM
Supports weavers, potters, cooks, and craftspeople building visitor-facing experiences that generate income while preserving cultural practice.
LEARN MORE →
Women in Tourism
Funds guide certification and hospitality training for women and youth in communities adjacent to Tunisia's major heritage sites.
LEARN MORE →
Tunisian cultural-tourism businesses submit applications during open grant cycles. Tanit reviews each application, verifies eligibility, and selects recipients based on program criteria, community impact, and sustainability potential.
Our team — built from years of on-the-ground work through the USAID Visit Tunisia program — identifies, vets, and selects grant recipients. We prioritize projects that create lasting jobs and are owned and operated by community members.
Partners and contributors contribute to Tanit-managed grant programs. We handle due diligence, international transfer, and reporting. Partners receive impact reports covering jobs created, revenue generated, and the businesses their contribution helped build.
Preserving heritage. Strengthening livelihoods. Building infrastructure from within.— TANIT FOUNDATION
Eco-Tourism
Sfax
I began my career as a financial director in a 4-star hotel in the Yasmine Hammamet region, then became general manager of a boutique hotel in the Mahdia region, and later director of the Yasmine Hammamet golf course. In January 2017, I founded my agency. What we offer: We provide a wide range of integrated programs to discover our beloved country Tunisia (from 2 days to 21 days), making us a trusted company for sustainable tourism in Tunisia. Our tours highlight the history of the civilizations that succeeded in different periods: Berber (Amazigh), Phoenicians and Punics, Roman, Vandals, Byzantines, Arab-Muslim, Ottoman, French colonialism, and the Tunisian Republic. These include visits to archaeological sites, museums, mosques, synagogues, cathedrals, medinas, and Kasbahs, some of them UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Accommodation: Hotels, guest houses, camping, caves, troglodyte houses, traditional, luxury, charming boutique accommodations. We specialize in crafting tours that cater to a variety of interests such as cultural heritage, adventure, trekking, glamping, culinary experiences, birdwatching, artisanal crafting workshops, wine, olive oil and cheese tasting, and even Star Wars locations. In 2027, we will also handle a group to assist the eclipse in the Chaffar area in Sfax. Transportation: New and comfortable cars and buses with professional drivers. Why choose us: We distinguish ourselves by designing and planning personalized itineraries according to the exact requirements of your trip across Tunisia. We work with trusted local families and partners, avoiding mass tourism, with the aim of supporting local rural communities. During our regional visits, we organize workshops and visits to local houses and souks to immerse visitors in local life.
Eco-Tourism
Kairouan
Oléa Amiri is a Tunisian company founded by Sonia Amiri, located in Oueslatia, in the governorate of Kairouan, at the heart of a region renowned for its centuries-old olive trees. The company produces and packages a premium extra virgin olive oil derived mainly from the native Oueslati variety, recognized for its aromatic richness and exceptional quality. Beyond production, Oléa Amiri develops an ecotourism and cultural tourism concept allowing visitors to experience an authentic immersion in Tunisian olive-growing heritage. The experiences offered include discovering the olive groves, demonstrations of harvesting and processing, olive oil tasting workshops, artisanal workshops (soap, flavored oils), as well as meetings with local producers and discovery of the region's rural traditions. Committed to a sustainable development approach, the company values local know-how, encourages the empowerment of rural women, and adopts environmentally friendly practices. Through this approach, Oléa Amiri contributes to preserving the cultural heritage of Kairouan while creating economic opportunities for the local community and showcasing Tunisian excellence in international markets.
Eco-Tourism
Gabès
Dar Zmerten is a guesthouse that offers visitors traditional homestay accommodation, promoting full immersion in the culture, history, and traditions of the region. It offers a complete range of services aimed at giving visitors an authentic and enriching experience, including hiking tours in the mountains of the Dahar. The guesthouse is also associated with a museum dedicated to the memory of the village and the Dahar region. It organizes and runs workshops allowing visitors to discover and practice various craft activities.
OPEN GRANT CYCLES — 2026
Tanit Heritage Foundation is now accepting partners and contributors. We manage structured grant programs for Tunisian cultural-tourism businesses. Partners receive full program documentation, impact reports, and visibility into the businesses and communities their contribution supports.
Insight · Cultural Tourism
Tunisia is not one destination. It is many landscapes held together in one country: white-and-blue coastal villages, Roman baths by the sea, medinas full of craft and courtyards, underground homes in the south, palm-filled oasis towns, Sahara gateways, mountain forests, and villages where heritage is still lived, cooked, woven, and shared.
Community Profile · Heritage Design
A new generation of Tunisian creators is taking heritage textiles once reserved for traditional garments and turning them into pieces women can actually wear today: structured dresses, corset-style tops, jackets, skirts, and made-to-order silhouettes.
Field Report · Matmata
Matmata is famous for its troglodyte dwellings — homes dug into the rock and earth of southern Tunisia by Amazigh, often historically referred to as Berber, communities centuries ago. But behind the architecture is a quieter story of women, hospitality, and inherited knowledge.