Cooperative Talassin from Midelt, Morocco

Akkaoui Rquia

A mother of two, she studied Arab litterature but had to drop out like every young girl her age to get married. She has mastered many crafts besides weaving. She raised her children until they became independent adults, and now has free time to joing her sisters' and mother's cooperative to apply what she has learned from her mother. She hopes their cooperative becomes a huge success.

Akkaoui Khadija

Khadija is the youngest of her sisters, married with two kids, just like her sisters before her she learned from her mother, even though her youngest son is quite young and needs a lot of attention she still joined the cooperative to provide a quality life for him, and help other women by sharing her experience and attracting as much new members as she can.

Akkaoui Yamna

Yamna dropped out of school and got married very young, which is the norm in most villages. She doesn’t have kids and has a lot of time to spare, she joined the cooperative to use her skills and helps women in her village by the teaching them everything she learned from her mother. She wishes all the success for the cooperative and for her students, so they can have better lives.

Akkaoui Rabha

Born in Tounfite, divorced and ex-president of Chourouk Cooperative. Rabha had no idea about associative work or how to join a cooperative until she met a Peace Corps volunteer who helped her to start her own cooperative, that gave her a chance to come out of her shell and display her talent in weaving taught to her by her mother, which also helped her prove that she could see as her divorce was caused by her mother in law claiming she was blind and could not be responsible for a family.
This opportunity was the first step for Rabha to build a future for herself and evolve as a person. She was pushed to resign from her cooperative due to political issues and founded this new cooperative with her sisters and mother. She hopes to help widows and special needs women Improve their quality of life just as she had.

Itto Barkaoui

Born in 1944, mother to five boys and four girls, she studied the french language during the French Colonization. She got married and had to drop out of school, As most girls, she learned weaving from her mother and mastered it on a high level, from carpets to Djelabbas to pillows, she could make anything for her home, and as wedding gifts for her daughters. As a countryside inhabitant she took care of all the farm animals, while teaching her daughters to keep alive the heritage she was handed from her ancestors. She wishes all the success to the cooperative.

Ben Ali Zinba

Zinba is twenty years old, she grew up in a village where Its people marry kids to each other, but the young couples get to live each other once they become adults. Her first marriage failed, her second one was lately blessed by a beautiful baby girl. She joined her sisters in law in founding the cooperative, she likes the dynamic of team work and the marketing strategies the site uses. Although she wants her daughter to finish her studies she would love to pass on her skills to her.
She wishes all the success to the cooperative and Its members, and would love to help all the women of her village to join as well and have a steady income.