Meet the Artisan: Fatima and the Language of the Loom

Fatima Aït Benhaddou has been weaving since she was twelve. She learned from her mother, who learned from her mother, who learned from hers. The knowledge is not written down anywhere — it lives in the hands.

"When I sit at the loom," she says, "I am not thinking about what I will make. The pattern comes by itself. It is the same pattern my grandmother made, but it is also mine."

The Cooperative

Fatima works within a women's cooperative we partner with in the Khénifra province. The cooperative gives artisans fair wages, healthcare access, and ownership over their designs.