During our day trip to the Atlas Mountains, our tour stopped at a women’s cooperative in Tahnaout. First, we had a breakfast of bread with honey, olive oil, and amlou. Amlou is an almond butter mixed called “Moroccan nutella” by locals. Afterwards, learned more about the structure of the cooperative and saw how argan oil is made. We also enjoyed a musical performance by a few of the women making the argan oil. Our host for the visit was a young woman from the local village who spoke English.
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There are women’s cooperatives all over Morocco. They provide local women (mostly from indigenous Berber tribes) opportunities to participate in the labor force, learn business skills, and receive a steady income. These cooperatives were established in the 1990s, primarily to harvest and manufacture argan oil sustainably. Still today, these women use no machinery to produce this oil. They do everything by hand and with traditional stone tools.
Argan oil is produced from seeds of the argan tree, which now only grows in southwest Morocco. Depending on its production, argan oil can be used either for cooking or cosmetic purposes. Because of how labor intensive it is to produce, it is one of the most expensive oils in the world. Most argan oil that you see in stores in the US and from Amazon only contain low percentages of argan oil. In addition to argan oil, the women at these cooperatives produce many other local health, cosmetic, and culinary products.
Purchasing argan oil from a women’s cooperative in Morocco ensures you are getting the 100% real deal, and also benefiting Moroccan women and girls! These cooperatives export their goods all over the world, so you don’t have to visit Morocco to support them. Just do some research to find a legitimate company which receives these direct exports and can ship to you. But of course, supporting first hand is best and ensures the women get compensated fairly for their work.
As is true in much of the world, there is still a large gap in the economic opportunities available to men and women in Morocco. According to Brookings Institution, unemployment rates among young women in the Middle East and North Africa are 80% higher than among young men. Much of this has to do with cultural and traditional gender roles. However, women’s participation in the labor force could have innumerable positive affects on the region’s economy.
Women’s cooperatives in Morocco are a step forward in advancing the economic opportunities of women and girls and growing the country’s economy.