Ajddigue Women's Argan Cooperative

Ajddigue is a member-owned, women-focused argan oil cooperative with 60 current members and six staff. It is located near Essaouira, in southwestern Morocco, the epicenter of the world’s remaining argan trees. Most of the cooperative’s business focuses on oil extraction, a labor-intensive and low-yield process. Ajddigue takes the oil and makes organic argan products for fair trade.

The annual output of the cooperative is now running five to eight tons. During the 2006-2007 fiscal year, Ajddigue sales of nearly MAD 2,000,000 (over US $242,000), up over 20% from the previous year—and double the sales during its first year of operation.

Most of Ajddigue’s original funding came from Canada and Japan. It also received funding and recognition from Slow Food International. Once it got started, however, most additional investment—for computers, labs, machinery, and buildings—has come from retained earnings. The company has very little debt.

Ajddigue’s membership is limited to women. Madame Zahra Kenabou, Ajddigue’s general manager, elaborates, “Traditionally the women would do all the work of collecting the fruits and extracting oils and other products and the men would sell the products and, since it is a patriarchal society, keep all the money and spend it at their discretion. The cooperative culture is changing that. Women in the Ajddigue cooperative are not mere workers, or housewives doing what they have traditionally done for free. They are full members and they collectively own the cooperative and share in its profits. That gives them a strong sense of ownership of their labor, of the products of their labor, and of the income this generates.”

Zahra describes the cooperative’s three major goals: “First, we have an economic goal. Our economic success translates into an economic success for the community. The women who work here own the enterprise. They are paid a living wage and they share in the enterprise’s profits... The change has been dramatic. In the past, families used to sell their argan oil for 30 dirhams (US $4); now they are selling it for 250 dirhams (US $33).”

“Our second goal,” Zahra continues, “is social. The Ajddigue Coop has a compulsory alphabetization [literacy] program. Our members also go through financial literacy programs. This contributes to the economic and social improvement of the community and the cohesion of the family.”

The focus on literacy is critical, since without it, rural women of Morocco face few economic options. Only about a third of women in rural Morocco today can read and write. Change is extremely difficult because of the male-centered mores of the predominately Muslim culture. Zoubida carefully designed the Ajddigue cooperative to offer literacy training but in non-threatening ways.

The third goal is ecological. “We strive to repair and reverse the neglect and destruction of the argan tree,” says Zahra. The cooperative plants new trees, and is doing research into how to successfully move and replant existing trees that might be slated to fall regardless. “We have reached out to government agencies like the Ministry of Water and Forests, and entered into partnerships in a project that aims to transplant argan trees. And we keep working with other institutions for the protection of this source of livelihood for our community.”

Another example of Ajddigue’s ecological sensitivity is how it handles waste. The community used to throw away the shells of the argan nuts after extraction of the oil. Now the shells are used for cooking.

When asked how other emerging enterprises could learn from Ajddigue’s experience, Zahra offered this advice: “I would say: study your project well and be clear on your objectives. The central underlying objectives for Ajddigue were twofold: create culturally appropriate empowering opportunities for women, and save the argan tree. Staying focused on both of these missions has allowed Ajddigue to build its business.”

Another lesson is that Ajddigue paced its growth slowly, increasing its original membership by only 40 women over 15 years. It also was careful only to add infrastructure, like its lab and processing equipment, that was absolutely essential to the core business.