{"id":16630,"date":"2020-07-06T10:25:50","date_gmt":"2020-07-06T10:25:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/highatlasfoundation.org\/?p=16630"},"modified":"2021-02-05T12:29:03","modified_gmt":"2021-02-05T12:29:03","slug":"high-atlas-foundations-partnerships-extend-argan-oil-industry-womens-empowerment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/high-atlas-foundations-partnerships-extend-argan-oil-industry-womens-empowerment\/","title":{"rendered":"High Atlas Foundation\u2019s Partnerships Extend Argan Oil Industry Women\u2019s Empowerment"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The argan\u00a0oil industry\u2019s impact on rural empowerment is growing nationwide, in part, because of international demand on women’s cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) launched in Morocco in 2005, which aims to \u201creduce poverty, grow the economy, and strengthen the kingdom\u2019s social fabric\u201d through participatory development, directly contributes to that industry’s growth (Perry et al, 2019). Despite the 2011 Constitutional reforms and the 2004 Family Code (Moudawana) that reinforce INDH’s priority, particularly with rural agriculture, women\u2019s lives in rural Morocco have not significantly changed because funding and oversight are not enough. Women (and men) in these communities need additional skills that begin with conversations about their goals.<\/p>\n

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Argan\u00a0oil production in Morocco is female-driven \u2013 the domain of Amazigh women for centuries \u2013 so the economic growth should provide a better life for them. Research reveals their strength and resourcefulness, financially supporting themselves despite illiteracy and immobility (social and physical). However, these women are often exploited if they lack basic business skills. While involvement in INDH cooperatives does more than just boost income \u2013 increasing optimism and improving freedom of movement \u2013 there is not a definitive correlation between working and financial independence for them. Without education, particularly numeracy, women are less likely to control their earnings and more likely to be victimized. Similarly, men are more likely to support women in their endeavors if the men have their own financial goals. Investing in women\u2019s education and numeracy while also helping men to set these financial goals was cited as “the only reliable predictor of men recognizing opportunities in the communities for women to improve their lives.”<\/p>\n

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This is where the High Atlas Foundation comes in. By engaging community members in conversations about their needs and finding out what they want for themselves, such financial goals are established, paving the way for more successful cooperatives, and providing the necessary mathematical, financial, and managerial skills through programs such as USAID’s Farmer-to-Farmer. HAF has also partnered with FR\u00c9 skincare to empower women\u2019s cooperatives and their communities in the Essaouira province (Marrakech-Safi region), where they have great potential to spread organic agricultural and processing practices, especially with argan.<\/p>\n

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Initiated in 2018 with the joint FR\u00c9-HAF planting of 2,000 argan trees for the 40-women Izouran cooperative of Essaouira\u2019s Smimou municipality, this provided not only income and environmental benefits, but also training workshops and school supplies for their children (helping combat high dropout rates still pervasive in rural areas). FR\u00c9 and HAF significantly expanded their sustainability initiative in 2019 by planting 2,600 argan trees with three additional women\u2019s cooperatives in Essaouira and 13,000 argan seeds in an HAF community nursery in the Marrakech region. In 2020, this increased to 33,000 seeds that will eventually be transplanted to the women\u2019s cooperatives\u2019 properties. To successfully translate this partnership into more action, FR\u00c9 and HAF are planning to help the cooperatives with FR\u00c9\u2019s direct purchase and export of their argan cosmetic products. These actions will certainly have a very positive impact on the women\u2019s economic level and also promote business expansion and create more job opportunities.<\/p>\n

Perry, Wendy, O. Rappe, A. Boulhaoua, L. Hassan Loux, Y. Elhouss, H. Ait Ahssain, Z. Ait Barich, H. Akhiyat, T. Aznague, and S. Hraid. \u201cArgan\u00a0oil and the question of empowerment in rural Morocco.\u201d The Journal of North African Studies, vol 24, no 5, 2019, pages 830-859.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The argan\u00a0oil industry\u2019s impact on rural empowerment is growing nationwide, in part, because of international demand on women’s cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) launched in Morocco in 2005, which aims to \u201creduce poverty, grow the economy, and strengthen the kingdom\u2019s social fabric\u201d through participatory development, directly contributes to that industry’s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":16631,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[54,115],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/IMG_0785-min.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16630"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16630"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16630\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19639,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16630\/revisions\/19639"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}