Written by : Ilham SAFI

Excerpt from a national newspaper

 Ittou said, “I am an old woman with the mind of a young child. When I think of a subject, I have the determination to implement it and achieve the goal.”

Ittou Ouamou is the president of the YAMNA cooperative for the packaging of agricultural products in the commune of Zaouiat Cheikh, province of Beni Mellal. YAMNA is a 100% feminist cooperative founded in 2015 by Ms. Ittou and some members of her family.

Ms. Ittou is a fighter, who has defied obstacles in order to reach her goal and achieve self-fulfillment. She’s an illiterate woman who can’t read or write, but that was not a big reason enough for her to back down from pursuing her dreams. Ittou Ouamou is an active woman, through her creation of a YAMNA cooperative, she has created a job opportunity for more than 35 women in Zaouiat Cheikh to obtain a decent financial income through the couscous production project and of local products.

Ittou’s passion and love for cooperative volunteering made her the first woman to benefit from the “Dar Al-Sana’a” program granted by the Ministry in charge of Handicrafts, and the contribution of the National Initiative for Human Development in the supply of technical equipment and head office.

Ms. Ittou’s love for associative work is due to her descent from a family that once worked in this field. Thanks to the hard work and the continuity of the cooperative, the women of YAMNA cooperative were able to exhibit their products in European exhibitions.

Ittou said that the culture of establishing a women’s cooperative in the area prompted her and several of her neighbors to embark on this adventure, in order to improve their economic situation and ensure their independence.

Thus, Ittou Ouamou was able, despite the fact that she did not have the chance to study, to make cooperative work a means of personal fulfillment thanks to her unique personality.

Today, Itou and her cooperative are very famous not just nationally but also internationally. Because of their hard work, they were invited by many radio and TV channels.