Handira

Fatema Amlih

Fatema is a native of Sidi Yahya Ou Youssef. She has two sons and a daughter. Before getting married she moved with her sister to another village for a few months, where she learned how to weave from other young women. When she moved back to her village, to start her own family, she continued to weave to decorate her home and make warm clothes for her kids. She makes Handira rugs, which the women of Zaouia are known for. This is Fatema’s first time weaving for a commercial purpose. She decided to join the association in 2012, when she heard about Anou and the opportunity it gave the local weavers in her village. With almost no income at all, Fatema has a hard time paying for her diabetes medicine. She hopes that her weaving skills will allow her to comfortably pay for her medicine, as well as get her own place where she can live with her husband and kids.

Meryam Achaoui

Meryam is from Zaouia. She had a limited education growing up. She left school, like most girls in her village, because there was no secondary school close by. She was able to learn how to weave at home as a child. She enjoys making rugs and Handira. She joined Association Zaouia in 2012, as a way to earn an income. She hopes to be able to support her mother's Hajj to Mecca.