Marrakesh Express
Women Weavers OnLine
Ben Smim
Several of the pieces below were made by members of Aicha Amrar's family. Aicha and her husband live at the village primary school, where he is a guard, and the family knew we would go there to photograph Aicha's pieces, so they left theirs too. The school also has a nice walled yard, with lots of space and light for photos. So we got a larger selection of pieces, but unfortunately lack pictures of several women. But we did get some information on the women who made the rugs.
Piece 3.12954 was made by Aicha's sister Mouna Amrar. She was not present for a photo - she works in a cafe in another town to support herself and her daughter. She is divorced because of a bad marital relationship. This piece is a medium size, and traditionally used as a wall covering. It is used daily, not just for special events; Aicha told us it was like putting up a picture to decorate a room. The design consists of geometric patterns overall in large white diamonds outlined in red and sequins, with accents in forest green and neon orange. Click here to see the overall design. This piece measures about 4' x 7.5' and costs $470.
Piece 3.12956 was made by Fatima Tillou, the wife of Ali's brother - Ali is Aicha's husband. They live 13 kilometers from Ben Smim, so Fatima was not available for a photo. Her husband is a shepherd, for their own and other people's sheep. They have 8 children, six girls and two boys. The oldest is 13, and those of school age walk to school, even though it's almost 2 miles each way. This piece is unusual for the color of the plain stripes, a soft blue green that one rarely sees in these pieces. The design stripes are mostly thin and include brown, a little red and bright blue, and touches of neon orange and bright pink with lots of sequins. You can see them better in this detail. It does not lie totally flat, but it's not bad so a rug pad will probably fix it. The size is about 5'2" x 10'6" and the price is $640.
Piece 3.12958 was made by Fatima Baasine, a widow of about 60 who works as a weaver to support her six or eight children. The older children work to help too, shepherding or weeding and picking vegetables. This is a very intricate piece, as you can see here; click here to see the full rug. The plain bands are a violet red, and there are accents in many colors: kelly green, soft orange, yellow, almost neon orange, turquoise and bright pink - and of course, sequins. It is a bit uneven on the floor, but not much, unusual for such a complex pattern. A rug pad should fix it. The size is about 5' x 10'7" and it costs $660.
Piece 3.12960 was made by Aicha Ajidad, a relative of Aicha's husband Ali. Her husband is a shepherd for other people and they have four children, 2 boys and 2 girls. The eldest daughter is married and the other children are in school except the three year old. This piece has a bright red ground with wide design stripes in black and white and accent colors including yellow, turquoise and royal blue and a little light olive green. You can see them most clearly in this detail. It is also decorated with a few tufts of yarn and not many sequins. It measures about 5' x 8'8" and the price is $495.
Piece 3.12962 was made by another of Ali's relatives, Rqia Ajidad. She nearly finished her high school degree, but didn't quite make it. It's unusual for a girl with so much education to weave as well. She made this piece and the one below to take with her when she married, but unfortunately she never did. She's now 36, and she and others in her family weave for a living. This piece is a complex local style, with an overall checkerboard design in which plain stripes and design bands alternate in squares. The plain stripes are separated by an arrowhead pattern, found only in the Azrou area, and there are sequins sprinkled in the design squares. While the whole piece would not show up well in the small photo, you can see it here. The main colors are a dark rich red, dark navy blue, and a brown-red. The design squares have accents in turquoise and shocking pink. The size is about 4'9" x 8'6" and the price is $545.
Piece 3.12964 was also made by Rqia Ajidad. You can see from the complexity of the design what a skilled weaver she is. The plain stripes are in red, maroon, a dark navy and a not-too-assertive orange. Notice how the border at the top of the photo "floats" on top of these plain colors. The accent colors in the design bands are in royal blue, turquoise, yellow and bright pink. You can see the whole piece here, where the sequin accents also show up. Notice that none of the design stripes seem to be the same. With such a complex design, it is difficult to make these pieces lie flat, but this one does except for one spot on an edge, tolerable if you like this unique design. This piece measures 4'7" x 10'8" and it costs $560.
