Nestled in the High Atlas Mountain Ranges there is a small town with a rural commune where four ambitious women have seized economic independence and are now helping others do the same.

Atma, the name of the cooperative, is an all-women traditional weaving collective that was founded on the donation of a single plot of land and has grown into two workshops housing several looms. Weaving is a traditional skill within this area. The techniques these women deploy today have been refined and have passed through generations of women. The cooperative is under the leadership of Fatima Falfouli (one of the original founders) and has over 60 members.

In the past, collectives have had to rely on middlemen to sell their products and so struggled to receive the full value for their work. Atma decided to change this and organise the women in Ait Hamza to take over the weaving process from production to sale. Going forward the cooperative hopes to franchise and open new branches to in order to provide meaningful work for women in the surrounding villages. Each chapter will provide a safe haven where women can come together and work toward their own financial independence.

INTERVIEW WITH FATIMA

Q. How did you come to work for this cooperative?

Perhaps this is inherited from my father. My father is an active collector. He worked with the mosque association and also for the people. I may have gotten something from him, even though I can not be exactly like him since he has such power and respect.

Q. What has it been like to be a part of it?

When I entered the cooperative I did not know what it meant. But I learned. Even though I was not the head of the cooperative yet, I felt responsible for the cooperative. I worked hard for the cooperative […] and in the end, I knew that this was my duty for as long as I accepted this responsibility and they [the collective’s members] made me responsible.

Q. Do you also weave? 

Sometimes. I do not always work with the women, because they need the money more than me because they have children and I have no children or anything. Perhaps if I marry, I will leave this work because I will not be able to reconcile my personal life with my work.

Q. Do you find value in your work?

Yes, I find comfort, but recently I knew that my time had passed because I had given up my private life for this cooperative. Many opportunities came to me and I abandoned them because I can not leave women in the middle of the road. Because who will get hold of their hands and help them to progress and reach for more? I do not want them to lose this. I am very proud of them.  They are my responsibility, I can not give up on them.

Q. Do you see yourself doing something else one day?

Maybe in the future, because I’m probably thinking of building my own life. Right now I have no time left to have children and establish a family. But I could also stay in the cooperative if it was not possible to go. It is necessary that someone comes after me. But I am very happy when women are happy.

Q. You have given so much time, of yourself to this cooperative…

If the market were to work and give money, I would be happy, […] I do not give anything, just my words and my time. Although the time, as you said, is expensive.

Special thanks to Salah, Fatima’s younger brother for transcribing this interview.