Where We Work: Morocco | Aid to Artisans

Morocco

Program: Market Access, Rural Outreach & Crafts (MAROC)
Funder: US Department of State's Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI)

Morocco’s Talented Artisans
Ambassador Aziz Mekour of Morocco, in Hartford as a guest of the World Affairs Council, visited ATA on November 1st . He spoke at the World Affairs Council lecture that same night about US-Morocco relationships in general, but at ATA he was more specific.

Tourism Extended
Morocco, one of the great craft producing countries of the world, reports that the traditional crafts sector contributes 10% of the national income, employs more than two million people and has a large share of Morocco's export trade. Tourism in Morocco is enormously important economically and also key to preservation of such fabled cities as Fez and Marrakech and, as the Ambassador reported, many visitors are so taken with the way of life in Morocco, that they become part-time residents whose renovated houses require the services of the many expert traditional craftsmen, tile-makers, painters, lantern-makers, rug weavers, furniture makers.

Pottery Tiles and Tableware
Morocco's national development plans emphasize improvement in the artisan sector, in efficiencies of production and service, in promotion and schooling as well as related health services and job creation. Ambassador Mekour, shocked to learn of the mental and physical hazards of lead was particularly interested in ATA's Lead-Free Alliance, the project in Mexico which has succeeded in eliminating lead and its health hazards from hundreds of pottery workshops there. Pottery exports from Morocco are limited, as were Mexico's, because of the lead glazes, as hazards to the consumer, but much more injurious to the potters.

ATA is currently developing a global lead-free pottery proposal intended for low-fire pottery workshops around the world and Morocco, with its already world-famous ceramics and tiles, would be the ideal next step. With our Mexican partner organization, Barro sin Plomo, known for its current successful technical training experience in more than six hundred pottery workshops, we believe we could help Morocco solve this problem.

Morocco Textiles
ATA is seeking funding to concentrate on textiles and textile products for the vigorous tourist, connoisseur, hotel and high-end shops. By reaching rural women weavers ATA's work will be quickly visible and successful. The market is ready as we learned from Meryanne Martins, proprietor of one of Morocco's most elegant B&Bs, Jnane Tamsna in Marrakech who wants top quality handmade furnishings for her hotels. (Meryanne is a longtime friend of ATA and offers a week's stay in her hotel to ATA's AWARDS event silent auction).
The women weavers are ready to produce. The market is ready to receive - but there is a gap in the chain, involving communication, transportation, quality control, timely delivery and, at the bottom, simple lack of experience in making market connections. ATA's special ability lies in helping artisans close this gap.

MAROC Project 2004-2006
ATA worked with the Moroccan artisan sector to expand craft exports and strengthen the country's tourism industry. The program, funded by MEPI, focused on market-driven product development and design assistance to generate craft sales in a global market niche. The program built on ATA's existing business associations to strengthen international market links that promote Morocco as a source of unique, innovative and high-quality handmade products.

Although the project officially ended, ATA's connections are still strong and work in the rural areas in connection with seasonal fairs was particularly successful and some of the products most admired in foreign markets, particularly at the New York International Gift Fair, such as the henna-patterned pottery and the cooking vessels, tajines, could have even broader success.

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