Cooperative M'Zinda De Tissage from Youssoufia, Morocco

Halima Elmoutaky

Halima was born in the village of El Chradi in the Youssoufia region of Morocco. Halima is one of the founders of the cooperative and specializes in preparing the wool for weaving. She has five children, who travel to the cities in search of work when there is no work in the fields. She hopes that the cooperative can attract more customers so the cooperative can grow and all its members can financially benefit.

Nezha Tayyane

Nezha is a M'Zinda native and has lived in the village for her entire life. She has been working in the cooperative for several years and hopes that the cooperative achieves great success.

Fatima Jaafar

Fatima was born in Tata, a southern town in Morocco and moved to M'Zinda after she married her husband. Together, they have three boys and one girl. Fatima's children do not have a permanent job but they do find seasonal work in the local fields. Fatima has been working in the cooperative since the beginning. Her dream is that one day the cooperative can provide her with stable income so she can save enough to go on her pilgrimage to Mecca.

Naims Elziani

Naima was born in the far south city of Dakhal and moved to M'Zinda after marrying her husband, who works in agriculture. She joined the cooperative since the beginning as a means to support her family and pay for her son's tutoring classes. She hopes that with increased income she can provided her son with a good education and job for her son.

Mbarka Nnoqra

Mbarka is a M'zinda native and is married with two girls and two boys. She has never attended school and relies on the cooperative for her income.

Malika Ttayane

Malika Ttayane was born and raised in the M'Zinda village. Malika, for various reasons, did not finish primary school. However, she still wishes to gain her education and is attending literacy classes. She specializes in weaving rugs.

Khadija Aamou

Khadija was born in Misghra, which is near by in the Khemisate region of Morocco. Khadija is the president of the cooperative. She is raising her three children independently after her husband passed away.

Fatima Elmachi

Fatima was born in M'Zinda and has never attended school. Despite this, Fatima became one of the founders of the cooperative and is currently attending literacy classes to increase her education. All of her income comes from the cooperative.

Halima Baouchi

Halima is originally from Beni Mellal and move to M'Zinda after marrying her husband. She and her husband have three daughters and one son.

Aicha Ait Baha

Aicha was born in Tata of the Youssoufia region of Morocco. Aicha was not able to complete her studies because the school was far from her village and her parents could not afford the costs. Despite this background, Aicha became one of the founders of the cooperative, which today provides her with a little income. She hopes that one day she'lll be able to earn enough through the cooperative to provide her a permanent income. With the money she hopes to earn, she hopes she can save enough to send her parents on Islamic pilgrimage and become independent. In her free time, She enjoys traveling, cooking, sewing and reading the Koran. When she is at the cooperative she does what she can to improve her skills so her dream of becoming financially independent is realized.

Lobna Benaammou

Lobna was born in Youssoufina and she is one of the founders of the cooperative. She has one child. Her favorite things are traveling and applying henna.

Saida Oudaha

Saida was born in Marrakech, is married and now lives in Youssaofia with her husband's family. She is the mother of two, one who works in an aluminum plant, and another who is a small shop owner. Her husband is retired, and so she specializes in rugs for the cooperative. She learned the craft of weaving from her mother when she was young, and has been a member of the cooperative since its inception. Saida loves the creative aspects of weaving and enjoys coming up with new designs. She hopes in the future to be able to design and create new and unique carpets. Saida says that she loves to talk with foreigners and change their preconceived notions about Morocco, which she feels benefits her community. Saida hopes that she will eventually be able to earn a fixed salary and that the cooperative continues to grow and flourish.

Fatima Assijade

Fatima is from Fkih Ben Salh, and is one of the creators of the cooperative. Fatima has been part of a Moroccan TV series called, "Craft of My Country."