On the road again. Eventual destination Marrakech where we will be for three nights then it's all over. More High Atlas along the way then to the Women's Cooperative Argan Oil plant. Argan oil is only produced in Morocco.
Before we arrived, our guide told us about the famous goats that climb argan trees. I have to admit I thought it was one of those stories that grows in the telling. Apparently not. Goats really do climb into the trees looking for the fruit. They’re remarkably agile and somehow manage to balance on branches that don’t look capable of holding them.
Years ago, people would collect the seeds after they’d passed through the goats’ digestive systems because the animals ate the fleshy fruit but not the hard nut inside. Thankfully, that’s no longer the preferred method. These days the fruit is collected directly from the trees or the ground, and the nuts are cracked by hand at the cooperatives. Much more appealing all round.
We didn’t actually see any tree-climbing goats ourselves. These days some are positioned in trees for tourists’ photos, so if you do see half a dozen goats perfectly spaced through one tree, it’s probably worth taking the photo but perhaps not assuming that’s how they spend every afternoon.
It was also suggested that the goats aren’t the only hazard. We heard about a tourist so keen to photograph them that she hurried off the bus, fell and broke her ankle. The reported eight-hour ambulance journey without pain relief was enough to convince me that if the goats wandered off before I got my camera out, so be it.
We also stopped at one of the women’s argan oil cooperatives. Argan trees only grow naturally in this part of Morocco, so it’s a pretty important industry here. The cooperatives provide work and an income for local women, many of whom have been doing it for years.
We watched the traditional process of cracking the incredibly hard nuts by hand. I have a new respect for anyone who does that all day. The kernels are then pressed to produce the oil.
There are actually two types. The culinary oil is made from roasted kernels and has a lovely nutty flavour. The cosmetic oil isn’t roasted and is used on skin and hair. Apparently it’s rich in vitamin E and people swear by it for moisturising. I may have helped support the local economy by bringing a bottle home to find out.
On the road again.
