Moroccan Artisans Face Crisis as COVID-19 Threatens Traditional Crafts

"The coronavirus is the final knockout: without help, without support, our profession will disappear," laments Youssef Rghalmi, a 49-year-old potter. The same sentiment is echoed by Mohamed Touel, a master craftsman of guebs - sculpted plaster used for decoration, reports AFP. "We were already struggling to survive because lifestyles have changed, traditional crafts are being lost because young people don’t want to take over and now it’s the final blow," he adds.

With the mandatory confinement, no more foreign tourists for the craftsmen. The local clientele, on the other hand, "has other priorities than buying carpets," laments Ahmed Driouch in his large store full of copper lamps, ceramics, daggers, jewelry, marquetry chests and carpets. "Hit 200% by the impact of the virus," this merchant confides that it will take him "at least two or three years to regain normal activity".

The thirty women who weave carpets for the small cooperative of "La femme créatrice" in Salé find themselves in the same predicament. They work eight hours a day for less than a hundred euros per month "when the carpets sell" and "have nothing left, because there has not been a single sale in three months," explains Rachida Nabati.

"We should sell online, but we don’t know how," regrets this mother who taught herself to read and write. "A digital platform was launched for craftsmen a few years ago, but it’s not working," says master plasterer Mohamed Touel.