Ayt Yahya Oalla from Azrou, Morocco

In their own words

Ait Yahya Oualla is a small farming Amazigh village nestled in the Mid Atlas Mountains. In 2007, the village formed an Association to provide activities for the youth in the village. In 2017 the Association expanded to include a focus on women, which gave birth to a women-run sewing cooperative. In 2022 the cooperative expanded to include a weaving cooperative.

Many older women in Ait Yahya Oualla learned how to weave at a young age, but then stopped weaving because they couldn’t earn an adequate income. The income potential now provided by the Anou sparked a burst of energy to restart their dormant weaving skills. Within a week, women from all over the village came together to form the weaving cooperative.

7 Members

73 Pieces listed

#19 On-time delivery

Ranked against every artisan group with custom orders on Anou in the last 12 months — how close finished pieces land to the date the group quoted (26 groups ranked).

The people behind every piece

Karima

Karima, the mother of a young daughter, is originally from Itzer. She dropped out of
school when she was in 5th grade and learned how to weave from her mother. When she was in
her young 20’s she married and moved to Ait Yahya Oualla. In 2018 Karima began to learn how
to sew and fell in love with the sewing group of women and this new hobby. In 2019, she
became involved in the Arkhbil Sewing and Weaving Cooperative in her village. Karima is
growing every day as a person because of the cooperative and the confidence she gains from
selling her products.

Fatiha Charrou

Fatiha was born and raised in Ait Yahya Oualla. She dropped out of high school when
she married. She has a teenage boy and two young girls, one of the girls is disabled. Before
Fatiha became involved in the local Association in her village she spent most of her time at
home. In 2019 she found her passion in sewing and weaving. After receiving a diploma in
sewing and weaving, Fatiha and a group of women started the Arkhbil Sewing and Weaving
Cooperative. The cooperative has brought out Fatiha’s natural leadership skills. The money she
earns from selling her products continues to empower her life.

Fatima Charrou

Fatima was born and raised in Ait Yahya Oualla. Fatima never received a formal
education. As a child she learned how to weave from her mother. After giving birth to her
second daughter she stopped weaving. The responsibilities of taking care of her husband and
daughter became too much. Years later she started to take up sewing and received a diploma in
sewing and weaving. In 2019, Fatima helped start the very first sewing and weaving cooperative
in her village, Arkhbil Sewing and Weaving Cooperative. Fatima’s confidence grows daily from
the leadership opportunities provided by the cooperative. The sale of her products helps her
family tremendously.

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