Today we visited a women’s cooperative in Marrakesh and it ended up being one of the highlights of the whole trip. Walking in felt completely different from anything else we had done. It was calm, organized, and everything on display looked like it actually belonged there. They sell leather products in what felt like every color imaginable, and the quality was immediately obvious. No one was rushing you or pulling you in off the street. You could just exist in the space and actually look at things, which sounds simple but after spending time in the souks felt like a luxury.

Speaking of the souks, the contrast could not have been more obvious. The souks are an experience in themselves, crowded, loud, products everywhere, and people coming up to you constantly trying to get you inside their shop. Haggling is part of the culture there and some people love that, but it can also feel overwhelming fast. Some vendors can get pushy or even rude if you are not buying, and the whole environment is a bit chaotic. It is not a bad thing necessarily, it is just a very different energy from the coop.

Both the souks and the women’s cooperative, and Anou which we learned about earlier, are rooted in Moroccan craft and tradition. What connects Anou and the coop here is that both are built around supporting women artisans directly, making sure the people doing the work are the ones actually benefiting from it. The difference is in how they operate. The souks are more of a free for all marketplace where prices shift based on who you are and how well you negotiate, while the coop has mostly fixed prices and a much more intentional setup that puts the quality of the product and the dignity of the maker front and center.

We also got to make our own glasses pouches at the coop which I was not expecting to be as hard as it was. Watching the women there make them quickly and precisely while I was over here struggling made me appreciate the skill involved on a whole different level. They were incredibly patient and helpful throughout the whole thing, and they served tea and sweets while we worked which was such a nice touch. It made the whole experience feel warm and welcoming rather than transactional.

As a consumer I am team coop without question. I want to know who made what I am buying, I want the price to be fair and go back to the right person, and I want the product to actually be good quality. The coop checks every single one of those boxes. After everything we have learned this week about how hard these women work and how little they have historically been paid for it, spending money there feels like the most obvious choice. I left wanting to come back with a wallet full of cash.