Morocco - Salé's artisan crafts, a reservoir of know-how seeking sophistication.
30 July 2012
Read by 3908 persons
With around fifty crafts and a community of more than 47,000 professionals, the city of Salé remains a undeniable reservoir of artisanal know-how, currently seeking sophistication in commercial processes and adaptation to markets.
As if to meet the new challenges, the city of Salé has had the chance to acquire a reference center for training and qualification in crafts, the second of its kind after that of Fes, the national center for the sector.
From now on, the city's artisans will have access to professional training and qualification cycles adapted to the economic and social reality of craft activity. They will therefore be more aware of aspects of management, methods and channels of marketing and target markets. The ambition is to provide beneficiaries with support to help them fully integrate into the world of work and enable them to take charge of creating their own projects.
With an investment of 13 million DH, the center is part of a program implemented, on Royal High Instructions, by the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity, focusing on the creation of four reference centers for the professional qualification of young people in craft trades.
The new establishment, built on a 4,875 m² site on Mohammed VI Avenue, has pottery, traditional zellige, tapestry, carpet, traditional sewing, art metalwork and basketry workshops, as well as three classrooms, a product promotion and innovation space, a job and microcredit space, a space for assistance with integration and business creation, a multi-purpose room, a library, a computer room and offices.
The sector has, at the city level, a wide variety of products covering almost all the niches that make the Kingdom's reputation: carpets, sewing and embroidery, weaving and tapestries, pottery, metalwork, zellige, basketry.
According to the Salé Chamber of Crafts, carpets represent the main sector of production and employment with more than 60% of the total production of the Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaers region. This activity includes two types of production units: main production units (more than 10 specialized units) with proven export experience, and other units with low capacity, in addition to a large number of independent women.
The different types of carpets produced are Al-Hambel, Rabat carpets, Berber, Middle Atlas and modern carpets combining the characteristics of traditional crafts and the demands of modernity. This activity is spread across 200 workshops throughout the city.
For sewing and embroidery trades, practiced both in workshops and in homes, they help meet the needs of all social classes, as they are adapted to the social and economic evolution of the country (the kaftan in all its aspects, traditional djellaba).
The weaving and tapestry trades are among the oldest in Salé, practiced by many sons of notables from the city. This niche experienced a particular boom in the late 1980s, but has significantly declined in recent years due to the increase in the costs of production factors.
Pottery is the second most important sector after carpets, as it is considered one of the oldest activities in the city. It has experienced significant growth since the construction of the El Ouelja craft complex in Salé, which includes the majority of production units, the number of which exceeds sixty. This sector has been able to attract a significant number of tourists thanks to the variety and specificity of its products and the harmony of the colors and decorations used.
In addition, there are the arts of traditional architecture, in particular the trades of zellige, plaster, marble and traditional metalwork, whose activity is no longer limited to the domestic market but has spread to conquer foreign markets, primarily the Arab countries of the Gulf.
MAP
Maghrebemergent.info
Published on July 30, 2012.
Posted online on July 30, 2012.
As if to meet the new challenges, the city of Salé has had the chance to acquire a reference center for training and qualification in crafts, the second of its kind after that of Fes, the national center for the sector.
From now on, the city's artisans will have access to professional training and qualification cycles adapted to the economic and social reality of craft activity. They will therefore be more aware of aspects of management, methods and channels of marketing and target markets. The ambition is to provide beneficiaries with support to help them fully integrate into the world of work and enable them to take charge of creating their own projects.
With an investment of 13 million DH, the center is part of a program implemented, on Royal High Instructions, by the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity, focusing on the creation of four reference centers for the professional qualification of young people in craft trades.
The new establishment, built on a 4,875 m² site on Mohammed VI Avenue, has pottery, traditional zellige, tapestry, carpet, traditional sewing, art metalwork and basketry workshops, as well as three classrooms, a product promotion and innovation space, a job and microcredit space, a space for assistance with integration and business creation, a multi-purpose room, a library, a computer room and offices.
The sector has, at the city level, a wide variety of products covering almost all the niches that make the Kingdom's reputation: carpets, sewing and embroidery, weaving and tapestries, pottery, metalwork, zellige, basketry.
According to the Salé Chamber of Crafts, carpets represent the main sector of production and employment with more than 60% of the total production of the Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaers region. This activity includes two types of production units: main production units (more than 10 specialized units) with proven export experience, and other units with low capacity, in addition to a large number of independent women.
The different types of carpets produced are Al-Hambel, Rabat carpets, Berber, Middle Atlas and modern carpets combining the characteristics of traditional crafts and the demands of modernity. This activity is spread across 200 workshops throughout the city.
For sewing and embroidery trades, practiced both in workshops and in homes, they help meet the needs of all social classes, as they are adapted to the social and economic evolution of the country (the kaftan in all its aspects, traditional djellaba).
The weaving and tapestry trades are among the oldest in Salé, practiced by many sons of notables from the city. This niche experienced a particular boom in the late 1980s, but has significantly declined in recent years due to the increase in the costs of production factors.
Pottery is the second most important sector after carpets, as it is considered one of the oldest activities in the city. It has experienced significant growth since the construction of the El Ouelja craft complex in Salé, which includes the majority of production units, the number of which exceeds sixty. This sector has been able to attract a significant number of tourists thanks to the variety and specificity of its products and the harmony of the colors and decorations used.
In addition, there are the arts of traditional architecture, in particular the trades of zellige, plaster, marble and traditional metalwork, whose activity is no longer limited to the domestic market but has spread to conquer foreign markets, primarily the Arab countries of the Gulf.
MAP
Maghrebemergent.info
Published on July 30, 2012.
Posted online on July 30, 2012.
