All we Have Left is the Smell

For centuries argan oil has been used by Berber people for cooking and cosmetics. The traditional method of extracting the oil – by women, by hand – from nuts grown on thorny trees in Morocco’s Sous Valley has been recognised by UNESCO for its cultural value. But it's popularity has led to larger companies, pushing women's co-operatives and small producers to the margins. So high is the price of the oil that they no longer use it themselves. As one of the women told me “All we have left of argan is the smell!.”