Crafts Descending
down
the Ourika Valley
Photos and Words by Joy Grant
Just beyond Marrakech, the Ourika Valley is the craft collectors' paradise. This article highlights the crafts and their connection to the land, showing how Amazigh traditions have endured through resilience and artistry.
Marrakech fades into the High Atlas mountains like an ombre, slowly but surely. Just 20 miles from the medina, the range stretches from Morocco, across Algeria, and into Tunisia. The mountainside develops into a lush greenery that attaches itself to the sky as the peaks climb closer to the clouds. The driver I used on my first day in town was from the Ourika Valley and mentioned that the mountain views couldn’t be missed, and even that was an understatement.
"As beautiful as the Ourika Valley is, the landscape is just the beginning of its depth."
As the road unwinds into the Ourika Valley, it unfolds into the crevices of the mountain’s ridges. The higher you go, the greener it becomes, fed by the Ourika River. Its waters have shaped both the land and the Amazigh villages that line its banks for centuries, nourishing the orchards and the communities surrounding them. In the Ourika Valley, the mountains may form the backdrop, but it is the Amazigh people who bring color and meaning to the scene along the roadside. Souvenirs found here aren’t just trinkets; they are a way of sustaining life, preserving identity, and showcasing a culture as fertile and enduring as the valley itself.
As beautiful as the Ourika Valley is, the landscape is just the beginning of its depth. Its villages are full of artisans who hold generations of knowledge and traditions. Trees and shops line the winding road, displaying the valley’s treasures. Bright woven rugs blow in the wind, and handmade goods glisten in the sun, inviting you to pause as you take in the breathtaking views around you. The artistry laid out beside the roadside is calling us to shop and offering an introduction to the local culture, carrying threads of traditions that have been passed down for generations. These traditions belong to the Amazigh, commonly known as Berber. To understand these traditions fully, it’s important to recognize the people behind them and the weight carried in even the name they are known by.
The effects of racism appear not only in daily life but also in language. Indigenous North Africans are historically known as Amazigh (plural: Imazighen), meaning “free person”. After the Arab invasion of North Africa in the 7th century, the Amazigh community was stripped of their name and labeled with the Latin term “barbarus” (originally used to describe anyone who didn’t speak Greek or Latin, and sounded like ”unintelligible speech”). Arabs adopted a shortened version of it, “al‑Barbar.”
When European colonial powers entered the region centuries later, they reinforced the term in official documents and maps. Over time, “Berber” began to have an air of negativity, associating the group with “tribal” or “primitive” stereotypes. Today, the respectful and accurate name is Amazigh/Imazighen, rather than the label imposed on them by outsiders.
Among the valley’s earliest crafts, pottery stands out. Terracotta vases arranged on shop shelves glow with the same red earth that formed them. Their uses range from jars for storage, tagines for cooking, to decoration. Regardless of their use, the care in creating them remains the same. Different motifs are selected for each piece’s decoration. These designs are symbols with meaning attached, each linked to cosmology, fertility, or tribal identity. During colonization, pottery moved beyond utilitarian needs and became a form of cultural resistance, reinforcing Amazigh identity and heritage when even their name had been stripped away.
"These designs are symbols with meaning."
Rugs are another example of the Amazigh community using crafts to carry their legacy. Women are traditionally the rug weavers in Amazigh communities. Each rug is woven with intentionality and attention to detail. Different colors, designs, and materials are chosen to tell a story. The rug shop that I visited in the valley was filled to the brim, each wall like a library holding memories waiting to be shared. The manager explained that patterns and symbols forge a visual language tied to spirituality, protection, and family lineage. Diamonds represent an eye for protection, zigzags represent rivers, and v-shapes depict arrows or mountains, often correlated with strength and resilience. And more broadly, many of the symbols are tied to womanhood, with triangles representing motherhood, and diamonds representing the female form.
Amazigh rug weaving is a centuries-old technique traditionally passed down from mothers to daughters, taught in the intimacy of homes. Because of this, different regions developed their own styles. The High Atlas Mountains have become known for their bold patterns and deep reds. Traditionally, natural dyes were used to produce the colors: saffron or pomegranate for yellow, indigo for blue, and madder root for red. Each rug is as much a part of the land as it is a work of art. The fibers, colors, and patterns are spun directly from the earth that sustains this community and transformed into a source of support.
Another way women can use the valley’s resources to support and preserve cultural practices themselves is through almond oil pressing. Argan oil is so intrinsic to Moroccan culture that UNESCO recognized the practices and know-how concerning the argan tree as an Intangible Cultural Heritage Element in 2014. Earlier, in 1999, the argan forests of southwestern Morocco were declared a Biosphere Reserve.
When I stepped inside the almond oil Co-op, a group of women welcomed me inside, away from the cold. Introductions were made as I warmed up by the fire with their homemade bread, whipped butter, and honey for breakfast. After, we followed the sound of stones, grinding, and the smell of almonds roasting to where the process was taking place. A thick paste flowed out of the sides of the hand stone mills as their handles were turned to grind the nuts. After kneading, the paste slowly but surely released oil. This oil is treasured for its versatility, celebrated both as skin care and a cooking essential. But more than anything else, it’s a highly in-demand Moroccan resource and craft that Amazigh women produce.
My journey into the Ourika Valley continued on a hike that began in the Settti Fadma Village and extended further up the mountains. Escorted by a local guide, who, like the craftswomen, made a living sharing his culture, I was led over slippery rocks, past a beautiful waterfall, to peaks with views I had only dreamed of before. The valleys below were spotted with villages full of earth-toned buildings and streets that followed the mountains’ winding bends. The same clay used for pottery can be spotted on the red mountain in the distance, the same saffron used to dye wool for rugs is being sold in small shops along the winding trails of the hike, and almond tree branches can be seen swaying in the cool winter breeze as it makes its way through orchards.
From there, the Atlas mountains extended out of sight, providing thousands of miles of land where Amazigh communities continue to draw from the earth’s resources to provide for their people and share their gifts with the world. The scenic mountains may frame the Ourika Valley, but it’s the people who bring this land to life. Through crafts and traditions like pottery, rug weaving, and almond oil pressing, the Imazighen have brought color, soul, and life to the land. Through their perseverance, they have ensured that their traditions will live on.
