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Rug Making in Morocco Enlivened by Women Goes Beyond an Avocation: A Cultural Identity

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In southeastern Morocco, in the town of Taznakht, the Aguiness rug cooperative produces Ouaouzguit rugs in an all-female workplace, which, apart from a source of income, is a cultural identity. This has been the occupation for women in the region for a long time.

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The traditional craft uses natural colours. The women in Taznakht wash the wool, spin it, before dying it with colours extracted from local plant materials such as henna, pomegranate peels, saffron, or indigo leaves. Being natural, such colours do not create allergies, and colours are durable and do not bleed or mix

In southeastern Morocco, in the town of Taznakht, the Aguiness rug cooperative produces Ouaouzguit rugs in an all-female workplace, which, apart from a source of income, is a cultural identity. This has been the occupation for women in the region for a long time.

Typically, the rugs were part of a bride’s dowry and were exchanged as a way of announcing marriages. Women expressed their creativity in making the rug and used it as a medium to convey their emotions.  The rug is entirely handcrafted from natural wool collected from the sheep in the region, including the Sirwa mountains, not far from Taznakht.

The traditional craft uses natural colours. The women in Taznakht wash the wool, spin it, before dying it with colours extracted from local plant materials such as henna, pomegranate peels, saffron, or indigo leaves. Being natural, such colours do not create allergies, and colours are durable and do not bleed or mix.

Each color and shape in the rug carries meaning, with the geometric shapes symbolizing concepts such as fertility, protection, family or the human connection to the land.

The women weave the carpets using a traditional wooden loom. It takes several weeks or even months to complete a single carpet, depending on its size and the complexity of its designs.

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Several cooperatives and groups in Taznakht promote these rugs and aim to sell them at fair prices to support the women. The most prominent one is the Women’s Centre for the Promotion of the Taznakht Carpet, consisting of 35 cooperatives. Over 3,500 women weave the rugs for the centre, which was established in 2016. The centre weaves up to 300 carpets a month nowadays.