Cooperative Nahda · Souq El Hed
WHERE YOUR MONEY GOES
SIZE
4m 7cm x 84cm x 2cm — 13ft 4in x 2ft 9in x 1in
WEIGHT
11300 g
MATERIALS
Cotton and Color Thread
PRODUCT ID
#10317
Despite its modern chic appeal, the Boucharef carpet is woven into traditional Atlas Mountain culture. When poorer families were low in supplies during a cold winter, they washed and tore up old clothing to furnish their homes. Fortunately today, the carpet carries on in tradition rather than in necessity.
COLORS IN THIS PIECE
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MEET THE MAKERS
Fatima Hajou
Fatima Hajou was born in Errachidia and moved to Oued Ifrane when her parents moved to the village for work. She never formally attended school but is a regular at a local association’s math and literacy classes. She has been involved with the association since 2011 and specializes in the btaniya and tazrbit carpets. Fatima is married and has two children, whom she hopes she’ll be able to support with the income she makes from her sales.
aicha mhdaoui
Aicha Mehdoui was born in Oued Ifrane and specializes in all the products that the association produces. She hopes to use her income with the sales to build a new house in the village.
Nbarcha Bally
Nbarcha Bally is 33 years old and married from Oued Ifrane. She is the mother of a son and a daughter. She has learned weaving like most of the local women from her own mother since an early age. She is a hard worker and puts long hours to help her husband with their household expenses and their children’s education. She joined the association not only to help her family but also to develop her skills by attending the training sessions for horizontal and vertical weaving.
Fatima Hafsi
Fatima Hafsi was born in 1969 in Oued Ifrane. She is married and has two daughters. She has recently joined the association but has known weaving for a long time, learning it from her mother. She attended school until the third grade in primary school only. From her experience, she wishes to teach the young girls who are dropping out of school nowadays how to weave in order to give them purpose but also to pursue the transmission of her craft and make sure it doesn’t disappear.
VISIT THE VILLAGE
Cooperative Nahda hosts visitors in their village — share tea, watch the artisans at work, and see the craft up close. Visits start at $14 per person, and most of it goes straight to the group.
Souq El Hed, Morocco · about 2 heures 17 minutes from Fez
