Today we had someone come in and talk about the craftsman ship here in Morocco. I was very surprised to hear just how bad it is for a lot of the craftsman and how little they make. We learned that oftentimes the women who actually make the products, give them to a runner to take back to the village and sell. However, when they do this, they only get about 4% of the profit, which equates to them only earning about $1 a day. This shocked me. I can’t imagine putting that much effort into making something and getting less than minimum wage. However, we then learned about the Anou Cooperative and how they are working to change that.
The Anou Cooperative helps connect women to sellers so that they can get the pay amount that they deserve. One very unique thing that they do is they have bios for each of the women so that buyers can know a little bit more about who they are selling to. Another thing is that they send updates when someone orders a rug to show how their purchase is coming along. The last thing that I found very interesting is that they host classes and tours of their workspace. People can book classes varying from hours to days to learn how to make rugs and work with the women. I find this very interesting. It seems like such a special experience to be able to make something alongside these women who have mastered the craft over their life.
The fact that they send updates is also very interesting. It makes the process of ordering a rug seem more like an experience as opposed to just a purchase. I often do think about where products are from and how they are made. So often in this day and age you can never trust how things are sourced, like in a sweatshop or another inhumane form of work. Even when shopping from everyday clothing brands they could be sourced unethically. I like the idea of showing the process of the rug because it shows exactly who is making it and where it comes from. I think that this type of marketing design will keep customers coming back and cause them to talk about their experience with others.
Finally, I learned a lot of interesting things today during out ecosystem lecture. However, I am only going to talk about one because this blog is already getting pretty long. The one big thing we learned is that Morocco did not stop when Covid hit. They were able to use this to develop their country by increasing technology and even starting to offer shipping groceries to people’s homes which was not offered before. We also learned just how much all of our companies for the site visit are connected. I think this is very helpful because now I know it’s not only my groups company that relates to the coding school, but the other groups sites relate to it as well. I think this will really be helpful in seeing the bigger picture of how these companies work together and form the bigger picture.
Next time I write I will be in Marrakesh! I can’t wait. See you then!
Sarah
