Crafts and the Souks

How artisans in Moroccan souks make leather, rugs, pottery and argan oil, the role of women's cooperatives, and how tourism and exports support crafts.

Moroccan crafts are famous.

Examples

Leather tanneries in Fez.
Berber rugs.
Zellige tiles and pottery.

Argan oil

Made from nuts of the argan tree, found mainly in Morocco.
Women’s cooperatives produce much of it.
Used in cosmetics worldwide.

Tourism

Tourists buy crafts in souks.

Challenges

Middlemen take large margins.
Competition from cheap imitations.

The argan cooperative

Women in a cooperative near Essaouira crack argan nuts by hand and sell oil to cosmetics firms.

Thinking crafts are only souvenirs

They support many livelihoods.

Key takeaways

Moroccan crafts include leather, rugs and tiles.
Argan oil comes from Morocco.
Women's cooperatives produce it.
Middlemen take large margins.