Hanbel

Fatima Ben Hssayene

Born and bred in the area, Fatima Ben Hssayene is married to a local farmer and has a son and three daughters. While her eldest daughter is working in a driving school, her younger children are still studying - her son being at university and her youngest daughters in high school. And altough Fatima only reached the 5th grade, she has learned her craft since early childhood from her mother, perpetuating a longstanding tradition that has been passed on from one generation to another. She had wished to pass it on to her daughters but they were reluctant to invest so much time and effort into learning her intricate craft because it is excessively hard to make a living from it. She is really happy to work at her local cooperative because it has been a constant source of creativity and improvement of her own work mainly thanks to the different exchanges with the other women. She really wishes that the association will prosper so that it can have a big working space with all the necessary equipment available for the women. On a more personal side, she would like to be able to find a religious mentor to help her better understand and follow the righteous path.

Rabia Ben Hssayn

Born in 1973, Rabia is is the mother of three children who has achieved to get her high school diploma. Aside from parenting, she is the one who takes care of all the chores around the house. She started weaving in 1995 as a pastime learning the craft from her mother and her aunt but has eventually started selling it in order to get a stable source of revenue for herself. All her spare-time is dedicated to her passions, i.e. weaving and sewing. And as a perfectionist, she would like to excel in her works and be able to innovate. She also would like to be able to fullfil all her dreams and help her children fullfil their owns in her lifetime. One of her dreams is to own a free school for the children in her hometown not to make money but because she loves teaching and would like to pass on her knowledge to the next generations.