Zanafi

Itto Shedli

Itto was born in a small village outside of Ait Hamza and moved to the village when she married her husband at the age of 19. She and her husband have three children. Her oldest son is almost finished with high school and is one of the best students in her class. Itto did not study in school but is a regular at the association’s literacy class. Her sole source of income is through the sales of her rugs and hopes that after the needs of her family are met she can save a little money to travel to her favorite Moroccan city of Agadir.

Fatima Oukhalu

Fatima is 32 years old and she is divorced. She is born in Goulmima and went to school there. She dropped out in middle school. She learned sewing in “La Maison des Jeunes” which is a social and educational center located in her region. The center’s mentors taught her the techniques of sewing and now she has got a diplomat in sewing. Her specialty in the association is sewing and she looks forward to bright future. She likes to travel a lot.

Itto Amzil

Amzil Itto has lived in Ait Hamza her entire life and has been a member in the association for four years. Amzil is an expert weaver as can create every product that the association creates. She is married to a famous musician in the region and they have five children and three grandchildren. With her first sale she hopes to buy her first cell phone so she can be notified when her future products sell!

Nazha Ajdaa

Nazha was born in 1960. She is married and is a mother of four kids. One of her neighbours taught her how to weave and then she was able to support her family financially. She is the eldest of her siblings so she had to help her parents raise her siblings and educate them. She taught her sisters how to weave. She supports her husband as well. She uses the money she earns to buy her medicines because she suffers from high blood pressure. Nazha likes to be involved in social community service. She hopes to sell more to be able to contribute more to her community.

Itto Benhammi

Itto Benahmi was born in Ait Yahya, Ait Hamza, and is a divorced mother of one son. She grew up in a family that owned livestock, giving her access to high-quality wool from an early age. Guided by her mother, she learned the art of weaving as a child, beginning a lifelong connection to this traditional craft. She completed primary school through the fifth grade. Like many girls in her region at the time, she was unable to continue her education because there were no secondary schools nearby, and families did not allow their daughters to travel far from home to study. Instead, she devoted herself to weaving, preserving the knowledge passed down through generations of women in her family. In 2012, Itto joined the association because she believes in the strength of working together something she had always experienced within her own family. Since then, she has continued to grow both as an artisan and as a member of a supportive community. Today, She hopes to earn a better income while further developing her skills alongside her fellow artisans. Above all, she dreams of passing her knowledge on to the next generation, ensuring that the rich weaving traditions of her community continue to thrive for years to come.