
Details:
- 2ft 2in x 18in x 1in
- 65cm x 45cm x 3cm
- 935 grams
- Vertical Loom
- Natural Wool, Cotton String
About the Maker:
Born and raised in the area, Fatima Ben Hssayene is married to a local farmer and has a son and three daughters. While her eldest daughter is working in a driving school, her younger children are still studying - her son being at university and her youngest daughters in high school. And although Fatima only reached the 5th grade, she has learned her craft since early childhood from her mother, perpetuating a longstanding tradition that has been passed on from one generation to another. She had wished to pass it on to her daughters but they were reluctant to invest so much time and effort into learning her intricate craft because it is excessively hard to make a living from it. She is really happy to work at her local cooperative because it has been a constant source of creativity and improvement of her own work mainly thanks to the different exchanges with the other women.
The Cooperative:
Afous Ghoufous, or hand in hand, is a powerful saying in the Amazigh language in Morocco that signifies the solidarity of the Amazigh people. Fadma Mohsine, a weaver from a village outside of the city of Ouarzazate, is a living example of Afous g Afous.
At the age of 15, Fadma unexpectedly became partially disabled in her extremities. Despite what many would consider a setback, she decided to continue learning how to weave from her mom. Fadma then combined what many villagers describe as her 'stunning intellect' with her weaving ability to create new and innovative designs using natural dyes -- the first in her village to do so. Despite Fadma's success as a weave, she still saw that many women in her village still struggled to develop their weaving craft and become financially independent.
As such, she began teaching a group of women in her village how to weave which in 2009 would become what is now known as Association Afous G Afous. Today, Fadma provides mentorship to 15 women of the association. Hand in hand, the women have overcome many barriers to successfully grow their cooperative and hope that their sales will enable them to make a wider impact on all the women in her village.