The Background

Morocco, a land with immense richness, culture and beauty, which is loved by many tourists as an exotic holiday destination.

Despite this beauty, Morocco is also a place where the rich and the poor live worlds apart. You don't have to venture too far away from the bustling tourist districts to see the wide economic inequality that exists.

Travelling to the remote Berber villages there is a distinct lack of money and due to the harsh living conditions and poor village resources, it is common for the local Berber people to live solely off what the land produces.

The education in the villages which is available locally is often poor and is reflected in people’s way of life. 

 

Education & Illiteracy Rate

Despite the progress that has been made with education programmes, the illiteracy rate in Morocco remains alarming. According to a report of the Moroccan High Commissioner for Planning released ln 2014, it showed that nearly 53% of Moroccan women can neither read nor write. In rural areas illiteracy is the highest at 41.7 percent, in comparison to 22.2 percent in urban areas.

This study showed that 2/3 of Moroccans are illiterate, with many of the local schools being left on the margins - with local girls, in particular, being excluded from mainstream education.

 

Transformative

In many of Morocco’s Berber villages, women earn an income by extracting and selling argan oil through local cooperatives for women, but we want to extend the transformative power of the oil further.

 

Our Mission

Kenzul Atlas is committed to helping Berber communities, the importance of giving back is at the heart of Kenzul Atlas's objectives. When you buy Kenzul Atlas argan oil, you are helping give young Berber children access to education: we are committed to giving 5% of our profit directly to supporting the Hannan school which provides schooling and hope to disadvantaged Moroccan Berber children in the Village of El Borj in the Middle Atlas Mountains of Morocco.

To find out more about our ongoing projects on how we are supporting local Berber communities, please sign up to our newsletter.

Thank you for your support!