South of Marrakech, between the town of Tahannout and the bustling market town of Asni, there are 3 or 4 women’s cooperatives producing Argan oil, despite the fact that there are no Argan trees in this area (the Argan fruit is transported here). These cooperatives have been created (like many others in Morocco) to help improve the economic status of the local Berber women.

The Argan tree is endemic to Morocco and is confined to the south-western region, south of Essaouira and bordered by the Atlantic. This endangered species of tree is now under the protection of UNESCO and Argan oil remains one of the rarest oils in the world due to its small and specific growing area. It is globally known for its cosmetic and nutritional qualities, although the local Berber women have forever used it in traditional Moroccan medicine as well as for culinery purposes.

On the way back from the L’Amandier Site one day, I pulled into an Argan cooperative to find out more about the oil I had heard so much about. We were warmly greeted by a lady who explained the process of oil extraction with a natural enthusiasm.

The Argan oil is extracted from the nuts of the Argan tree. Traditionally, and for centuries gone by, the nuts have been collected in a somewhat unusual way. The goats of the Argan tree region are particularly partial to the Argan fruit and have even developed tree climbing skills in order to procure their favourite snack. Having gorged on the fruit, the goats eventually expel the nut, which then gets collected to start the extraction process. These ladies, however, provide a somewhat cleaner and faster method of extracting the nut from the fruit…

After removing the nut from the fruit, the hard outer shells are cracked to release the almond-like, oil-rich kernels within. Armed with a base rock and a hard hand-held stone to crack the nuts, these ladies work deftly, and amazingly seem to miss their fingers each time they bring the rock down with a flourish.

For the culinery oil, the kernels are gently roasted before being ground, which gives the distinctive nutty taste. The oil is then extracted from the dark ‘dough’. For high quality cosmetic oil it is pure cold pressed and often mixed with essential oils for differing properties.

All the products are for sale and for sampling at the showroom and our hostess made it very clear that we were not obliged to buy anything. Obviously we came away with neatly wrapped purchases…

As we walked back to the car, we noticed that we were crunching over a carpet of argan husks, a testiment to the hard work of those cheerful, nut-cracking Berber ladies who are playing their essential part in the economic and social security of their community.

This particular coopéative féminine is Zine de L’Atlas. For further details, contact +212 (0)661 34 29 17.

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