From hand-woven carpets to hand-forged sickles, two southern towns keep Morocco's Berber craft traditions alive.
Away from Morocco's better-known souks, two towns in the south have quietly kept centuries-old Berber crafts alive: Taznakht, the country of the Berber carpet, and Rissani, the artisan capital of the pre-Saharan south.
Taznakht: the country of Berber carpets
Taznakht is known across Morocco as the heartland of Berber carpet weaving. In cooperatives around the town, women weave rugs using patterns and techniques passed down through generations, dyeing wool and knotting it by hand exactly as their grandmothers did.
Rissani: forges, silversmiths and sickle-makers
Further south and east, Rissani's old artisan quarters are home to blacksmiths, silversmiths and potters, working in small open workshops much as they have for generations. Among its most distinctive craftsmen are the town's sickle-makers, hand-forging agricultural blades the traditional way — pieces made to be used, not just displayed.
Visiting both towns
Both towns sit naturally along desert circuits from Ouarzazate or Zagora toward the dunes — Taznakht on the return route from Erg Chegaga via Foum Zguid, and Rissani on the way to or from Merzouga and the Erg Chebbi dunes.