CARPETSCARPETSART & CRAFTwomen weavers. By buying directly from these weavers, you’ll score carpet deals and immediately improve life for families
eking out a living in this rocky terrain.Cooperative Ahilal des Tapis
In this sunny studio, you’ll spot tightly knotted carpets in some surprising non-traditional styles and colours. One plush
aubergine carpet fairly begs for a fireplace, and there’s a rock-star red carpet with alternating stripes of scarlet wool and
shaggy, glossy black goat hair. Still on the loom on a recent visit was a free-form ‘Berber Picasso’, with jagged indigo mountain
ranges and saffron polygons. ‘That one’s my house,’ explains the weaver, pointing to a square.
Prices are set, with a small percentage going to the association for equipment, training and childcare, and the rest directly to
the women who made the items – income that’s often the sole support for families in this semidesert location. It’s 8km from
Foum Zguid, 2.5km along a graded piste .Tazenakht Ensemble Artisanal
The crossroads town of Tazenakht has several carpet shops that mostly sell to trade, but you can skip the middlemen and
browse high-quality carpets at fixed prices inside this government-run showroom. The tricky part is finding the Ensemble
Artisanal in downtown Taznakht, where few streets are labelled. Entering the town from the south, turn right, then left towards
the post office. Nearing the post office parking lot, turn right, and at the next T junction, turn left: this is the Ensemble Artisanal,
which you should find open 10am to 5pm.Jemaite Tifawin Carpet Cooperative
(Association of Light; 0674 74 48 30; Anzal village, carpet showroom 9am-noon & 2-6pm Mon-Thu, studio open house
9am-5pm Sun) The women of Anzal village are impressive multitaskers – in addition to farming, household management, and
foraging for mountain herbs, 88 local women weave carpets. They’re also daringly creative. While other local weavers stick to
traditional tufted yellow Glaoui carpets with classic diamond patterns, these women are making wildly original pieces,
experimenting with dyes from Anti Atlas plants and finding new design inspirations.
In the sale showroom, one arresting crimson kilim is edged with graphic black-and-white zigzags – ‘like a traffic sign, you
know?’ says Fatima, the weaver who made it. A madder-root-dyed deep purple carpet with a henna-yellow wriggle was
inspired by Kufic calligraphy, conveying baraka (blessings). All are marked with fixed prices and proceeds go directly to the
carpet maker, with a small percentage underwriting shared weaving supplies. No need to worry about baggage limits here:
table runners, throw pillows, and Mac-sized laptop bags are available. Of all the women’s carpet cooperatives in southern
Morocco, this is surely the hippest. It’s 26km on N10 from Tazenakht.Erg Chigaga to Tizi n’Tichka
Exiting Erg Chigaga by 4WD, head north to Marrakesh via Foum Zguid. En route through the
sahel and reg , you’ll pass Iriki oasis under an imposing plateau on your right, with a lonesome
cafe offering cool drinks under sun umbrellas. From here, you’ll spot thirsty birds and gazelles
drinking from a vast lake. But look again: ‘Lake Iriki’ is actually a mirage, with deceptive
silhouettes of poisonous calitropis bushes.
Another 30km or so from Cafe Iriki you’ll turn north, and as you near a blocky plateau you’ll
swear is a hotel (another desert illusion), you’ll approach the guardhouse for Foum Zguid ,
where you’ll be asked to show your passport. Foum Zguid is a strategic military base, and the
town is a crossroads with all the necessities: water, petrol, a public phone, and coffee.
Follow the piste 2.5km east of Maison d’Hôtes Hiba, and you’ll come to Cooperative Ahilal
des Tapis (Click here ). Admire the carpets woven on clean, well-equipped premises, tajine-
shaped baskets and lugnâa, a local-style black wrap with graphic flower patterns in vivid
colours. Your next stop en route to Tizi n’Tichka is Tazenakht , a handy stop for a quick bite,
coffee, petrol and yes, carpets.
More heirloom-quality carpets await discovery 26km up the N10 at Jemaite Tifawin ( Click