Cooperative ARGAN HAHA تعاونية ارگان حاحا, Traditional argan cooperative in Essaouira, Morocco.
Coopérative Argan Haha is an argan oil production workshop in Essaouira where workers process nuts and seeds by hand. The oil is extracted through cold pressing, a manual method that requires breaking shells and grinding kernels without machinery.
Berber women in this region have passed down oil extraction methods across generations, developing skills rooted in centuries of practice. The techniques used today follow patterns established long before commercial production became widespread.
The women who work here maintain production methods that have defined their economic independence and daily lives for generations. When you visit, you can see how this work shapes their community and gives them agency in their own livelihoods.
You can watch the production process each day and see workers demonstrating their techniques hands-on. The workshop sells its products directly, making it easy to purchase oil and other items on-site.
Every liter of oil produced here results entirely from manual labor, making the work much more demanding than many visitors expect. The sheer amount of hand-processing required to yield even small quantities reveals why this oil commands respect as a product.
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