Association Tithrite from Ait Hamza, Morocco

Kenza Oulaghda

Kenza was born in Ait Hamza and has been an active part in the village’s development since her youth. She has been involved in multiple associations that focused on Ait Hamza’s development until she decided to start Tithrite. Kenza is now the president of Association Tithrite and is driving its vision forward. She plans to use all the money she earns from her sales to fund the future development projects of the association. In addition to her work with Tithrite, she serves as a vice-president for the Moroccan Association of Artisans.

Itto Shedli

Itto was born in a small village outside of Ait Hamza and moved to the village when she married her husband at the age of 19. She and her husband have three children. Her oldest son is almost finished with high school and is one of the best students in her class. Itto did not study in school but is a regular at the association’s literacy class. Her sole source of income is through the sales of her rugs and hopes that after the needs of her family are met she can save a little money to travel to her favorite Moroccan city of Agadir.

Khadija Rabane

Rabane is an Ait Hamza native and is one of the original members of Association Tithrite. Rabane hopes that the sales of her carpets will fund her passion for learning. She studied history at the University of Meknes and her favorite subject is Moroccan history. She hopes that when she has enough saved, she’ll return to school to get her Master’s. enough income through the sales of her carpets to return to school to get her master’s in history. Currently, Rabane teaches the literacy classes that the association provides.

Fatima Oulfde

Fatima is one of the leaders of Association Tithrite. After she completed a degree in law she decided that she wanted to return home. Now she is one of the association’s teachers for their weekly literacy class. Fatima specializes in tazrbit rugs and is learning how to weave the other styles the association produces. She hopes that the sales from her carpets will support the association as it grows and helps more women in Ait Hamza.

Fatima Oukhalu

Fatima is 32 years old and she is divorced. She is born in Goulmima and went to school there. She dropped out in middle school. She learned sewing in “La Maison des Jeunes” which is a social and educational center located in her region. The center’s mentors taught her the techniques of sewing and now she has got a diplomat in sewing. Her specialty in the association is sewing and she looks forward to bright future. She likes to travel a lot.

Itto Amzil

Amzil Itto has lived in Ait Hamza her entire life and has been a member in the association for four years. Amzil is an expert weaver as can create every product that the association creates. She is married to a famous musician in the region and they have five children and three grandchildren. With her first sale she hopes to buy her first cell phone so she can be notified when her future products sell!

Fatima Oukhallou Mimoun

Fatima Oukhlu
Fatima was born in Ait Hamza during the 1960’s. She was born into a poor family and never went to school because when she was younger only boys could attend school. Instead of school, Fatima learned how to weave and sold her weavings to notable people in her village and also sold rugs from time to time to cover the costs of food and clothing for her family. When she married, she furnished her new home entirely with rugs that she created by hand. Since the family she married into didn’t have a flock of sheep as many families did at the time, she continued to weave to help support her family. She joined Association Tithrite in order to generate more income from her work, and she has been at the association since it began.

Hyatt Olafde

Hyatt is one of the students the association is training to help preserve the weaving traditions of Ait Hamza. In a short period of time, Hyatt has mastered the tazrbit style of carpet and is quickly learning how to produce hanbel rugs. She grew up watching her mom and grandma weave carpets and is excited to be following in their footsteps. Hyatt is a fierce advocate for preserving Amazigh culture and looks to do so with each carpet. Hyatt completed high school and studied modern literature. She knows a little English and French and would like to know more.

Zahra Idrissi

Zahra started weaving when she was eight years old. Her female neighbour taught her how to weave. She never went to school and she used to work for some rich families in order to support her own family. Her parents died and then she lived with her brother and his wife. Now that she's a member of Tithrite Association, she no longer feels like she's a burden to her brother. She hopes to help her poor community because she knows how it feels. She likes to weave alot and she thinks that it always feels good to earn money from what she likes to do.

Nazha Ajdaa

Nazha was born in 1960. She is married and is a mother of four kids. One of her neighbours taught her how to weave and then she was able to support her family financially. She is the eldest of her siblings so she had to help her parents raise her siblings and educate them. She taught her sisters how to weave. She supports her husband as well. She uses the money she earns to buy her medicines because she suffers from high blood pressure. Nazha likes to be involved in social community service. She hopes to sell more to be able to contribute more to her community.

Itto Benhammi

Itto Benahmi was born in Ait Yahya, Ait Hamza, and is a divorced mother of one son. She grew up in a family that owned livestock, giving her access to high-quality wool from an early age. Guided by her mother, she learned the art of weaving as a child, beginning a lifelong connection to this traditional craft.
She completed primary school through the fifth grade. Like many girls in her region at the time, she was unable to continue her education because there were no secondary schools nearby, and families did not allow their daughters to travel far from home to study. Instead, she devoted herself to weaving, preserving the knowledge passed down through generations of women in her family.
In 2012, Itto joined the association because she believes in the strength of working together something she had always experienced within her own family. Since then, she has continued to grow both as an artisan and as a member of a supportive community.
Today, She hopes to earn a better income while further developing her skills alongside her fellow artisans. Above all, she dreams of passing her knowledge on to the next generation, ensuring that the rich weaving traditions of her community continue to thrive for years to come.

Aïcha Bellahcen

A widowed woman and a mother of three sons, she also has a daughter suffering from a neurological disease that has left her unable to move. Despite her old age, the poor mother bears the burden of taking care of her daughter. Additionally, her grandson suffers from visual impairment. Due to her inability to work, she was forced to sell her products, making her an easy target for middlemen. Aunt Aisha is one of the respected women in the village who contributed significantly to the traditional industry. However, she faced exploitation, which led her to turn to the association to preserve her dignity and protect her products from exploitation.