Saida, President
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In 1993, Saida got her B.A. in Islamic Studies. In 1995, Saida was a member in the "Femmes de Marrakech de Couture" cooperative and received training in cutting and sewing. Later, she became a "treasurer" of the cooperative in 2000 and started participating in national and international forums to present the cooperative and its activities and products. She also paid visits to different foreign countries, mainly France and Denmark.
Saida is impatient to take on another responsibility ; it is "PRESIDENT" of the cooperative, which is not easy to manage but thanks to trainings. Saida is also able to successfully compromise between her family’s responsibilities and work.
Saida is so ambitious and determined to widen the scope of the cooperative ; therefore, she took initiative to set up a network that gather all the cooperatives of region and called it « Réseau Femmes Artisanes » of which Saida has been the president since 2007. Saida could convince many local and foreign partners to support their project and sign partnerships with the network.
Saida is a real ambassador of crafts.
Fadma, Trainer
Amina, Trainer
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Amina is the general secretary of Women’s Cooperative of Bensllo. She is married and has got four sons and a daughter. She works at home sewing Caftans and djellabas with Randa technique.
In 2003, Amina had the idea of starting a personal project of trimmings. In this respect, she could train other women in her area to work with her, but in 2004, her son fell ill with cancer and it caused her a lot of personal and financial problems that forced her to look for more custmers.
In 2006, Amina became a member in the Future Youth Association of Bensellu that gave her the chance to take part in RFA’s training. This latter motivated and allowed her to carry on her work and become more professional. Though her son passed away in 2010, she kept participating in all the workshops and training organized by RFA. Amina sees the RFA network as the right place that she has been looking for years. In 2014, Amina gave birth to a new daughter and now she is one of the leaders in the network.
Assiya, Treasurer
Assiya lives in a small village called Ait Ourir, 32 km far from Marrakesh. She is the one who provides for her entire family. Her level of education is Baccalaureate.
In 2003, Assiya started her own project of passementrie and targeted the clients of Marrakesh only. She also shared her experience and could train 20 women in her region. Three years later, in 2006, she participated in the project « Women Artisans Work at Home » with the association entitled the « Future Youth Association of Bensellu».
Assiya's commitment to all the workshops, training and exhibitions organized by the network assisted her gain much confidence and hold a place among the board of the network
Thanks to the RFA network, Assiya's products and work reflect professionalism, which affects positively her career, for she is now the treasurer of the network and one of its competent trainers.
In short, Assiya is a model of commitment, hard work and self-reliance.
Fadma has been a member of an association located in Tahnaoute in Marrakesh Since 2007. She works as an embroideress and lives in a small village on the mountain in the suburbs of the city.
Fadma is very active and insists on continuing with the RFA (Women Artisan Network). She also attends seminars on professional development and even starts taking literacy courses to be able to read and write. She happened to participate in other seminars in French, English and the family code.
Fadma is very intelligent; she asked the RFA to provide her with the raw material so that she can create embroidery patterns. She has continued developing in her career and managed to create embroidery buttons and stars. Thus, the RFA adopted her products and she made a good income from that.
Fadma kept developing in her career and managed to create new patterns and even bought an embroidery machine. The RFA has really helped her to realize her dream.
Fadma’s decision to pursue her career brought her serious problems with her family, especially her father who was against her constant travel to other cities and even other countries. However, Fadma has managed to convince her family of her willingness to share her skill with other women. In 2010, she went to Syria and then to Copenhagen twice in 2011 and 2012 on a training mission in embroidery for some Danish women, and participated in an exhibition where she presented her products.
Fadma has succeeded and managed to make money. As a result, her father has now considerably changed his view and idea of her and her work. Undoubtedly, She is now the ambassador of the Moroccan traditional embroidery artifact!