Azlag Dagger Cooperative from Kalaat M'Gouna, Morocco

Mohamed Ait Said

Mohamed Ait Said was born in Azlag and he is 31 years old. He dropped out school when he got to middle school and started to learn the dagger craft from his father and now he specializes in curved daggers. Mohamed hopes that the dagger craft improves more in the near future.

Hussein Ait Hassou

Hussein started making daggers in 1979 after learning the craft with his older brother. He specializes on the curved daggers that are made specifically by Azlag. Hussein is married and has six children.

Rachid Ait Basou

Ait Basou Rachid is 32 years old and single. He was born in Azlag. He dropped out school when he got to middle school and started to learn the dagger craft from his father. He specializes in curved daggers and has been doing this work since 1998. Rachid hopes that the dagger craft improves more in the near future and also wishes to have his own workshop.

Essaidi El Houcine

El Houcine was born in Azlag and he is 31 years old. He couldn’t make it through primary school so he dropped out and learned the dagger craft from his older brother. He specializes in jewelry and all kinds of daggers. He hopes that the dagger craft business improves more and becomes successful.

Brahim Ait Lahsaine

Brahim has been working on daggers since 1984 after learning the craft from his older brother. Since he began, he has expanded his skill set to make jewelry, boxes and other items such as traditional bellows. In the past, he has done custom work the famous movie studios in Ouarzazate. Brahim is married and has five children.

Hassan Ait Saaid

Hassan began to make daggers in 1999 after learning the craft from his father. He has since learned how to specialize in both curved and straight daggers. Since Hassan did not go to school, he depends on his sales to support his wife and son.

Ait Saaid Mohamed

Ait Saaid Mohamed was born in Azlag. He is 35 years old, married and father of two. He went to school, but dropped out before finishing high school. Mohamed learned dagger craft from his father and he has been involved in the craft since 1998. In 2013, he was the winner of “The Craft of my Country,”, a Moroccan competition hosted by a local TV channel. He hopes that the dagger business shines in the future and also he wishes to own a private workshop.

Abderhaman El Ghamri

Abd Arhman specializes in daggers of all type. He learned this craft from his father and other master artisans and he has been making daggers since 2003. Abd Arhman is married and he is 34 years old.

Abderhaman Oukham

Abd Rahman dropped out the middle school and started to learn the dagger craft from his father and other master artisans and specialized in all types of daggers since 2000. Abd Rahman is 29 years old, married and has one kid.

Lhssan Elhamidi

Lhssan specializes in all type of daggers. He didn’t have a chance to finish school, started to learn the dagger craft from the local master artisans. He has been making daggers since 1990 and he hopes that this craft will keep feeding him with happiness. Lhssan is married and is a father of four children.

Mastpha Ait Hsou

Since Mustapha never attended school, he relies heavily on the sales of his daggers to support his wife and one daughter.

Mlal Elhoucine

Mlal is one of the oldest dagger makers at the Azlag Cooperative, as he has been working on daggers since 1972. He has always used the sales of his daggers to support his wife and five children.

Mohamed Ait Said

Mohamed Ait Said began dagger making back in 1990. He has become a jack of all trades in the cooperative and specializes in every material that the cooperative uses. Mohamed attended school only until the first grade and uses the craft to support him and his three children.

Lahcen Ait Said

Lahcen Ait Said has been making daggers with his brother Mohamed since 1997; both learned the craft from their father. Lahcen not only specializes in all types of daggers, but also makes more specialized items like jewelry and other decorative work. Lahcen has always been engaged in the wider artisan community and serves as a member of Marche Maroc, a national association of Moroccan artisans.

Assaidi Mohamed

Mohamed was born in 1975 and from an early age he has always been involved in metal work. Since he only finished primary school, he uses the sales from his daggers to support himself.

Abdel Al Hamid Ait Baaziz

Abdel Al Hamid Ait Baaziz was born during the 80’s in the village of Ouarshdiq. He is married and has two boys. He completed school until the seventh grade. He did not finish his studies because because of financial reasons. He learned the craft of dagger making over a decade ago after a friend of his from the village of Azlag taught him. Once his friend showed him how to make a dagger, he fell in love with the craft and planed to continue making daggers. He hopes that the future of dagger making has is bright.

Mohammed Oakam

Mohammed Oakam was born in Azlag during the 1970’s. He never attended school because finishing school was not emphasized at the time. Instead, he learned the art of creating daggers from his father and now has been an expert dagger maker for over 30 years and counting. He hopes that he will be able to develop his craft so daggers become more widely known than before.

Mohammed Ait Lahsen

Mohammed Ait Lahsen is an Azlag native. He studied in school til the 9th grade but he decided to leave to pursue his passion for daggers, which he learned from his father. He has now been a dagger maker for over 20 years now. He is married and has four children.

Nbark Amda

Nbark Amda was born in the 50’s in the village of Azlag. He is married and has seven children. He learned the art of dagger making from his father and now has been crafting daggers for over thirty years. Nbark believes in his craft as it enabled himself, his father and grandfathers to study in school and preserve their cultural heritage.

Houssain Saidi

Houssain Saidi was born in the village of Azlag during the 50’s. Today he is married and has six children. He never completed school because at the time the conditions encourage people to pursue education. Houssain learned how to make daggers from his father over many years and he has been crafting them since his youth. He hopes that through his work he can develop better skills and that he can make the work of the dagger makers famous world wide.

Taouss Elhoussin

Taous was born in the village of Azlag. He never completed his studies because the distance between his village and the school was very far. When he was younger, Taous decided to move from Azlag to Kelaa Magouna to found the Azlag Dagger Cooperative in order to bring the daggers of his village closer to where many tourists pass through on an annual basis. He also wanted to bring together all of the dagger makers together into one group to preserve the long history that the daggers have in the area. He hopes that the cooperative will create a positive impact in the lives of present and future dagger makers.

Mohammed Tawoss

Towass was born in 1964 in Islak and is not married. He was able to attend school through the fourth grade and learned the craft of dagger making from his brother. Now he devotes all of his time to working in the cooperative.

Nait Said Elhoussine

Nait was born in Islak, is married and has one son. Nait has been able to attend school through the fifth grade and learned the craft of dagger making from his father when he was younger. Nait now devotes all of his time to the cooperative.