Argan oil cooperatives short story:
Intrigued by ancient local claims of the Argan oil's health and nutritional properties, Zoubida Charrouf, a chemistry professor at University Mohammed V in Morocco capital, Rabat, decided to conduct chemical research on the oil in the early 1990s. What she found corresponds with the local traditional wisdom : the substance highly rich with vitamin E and unsaturated fatty acids that can lower cholesterol, reduce wrinkles and juvenile acne, and speed healing of abrasions.
Charrouf's findings renewed interest in the argan tree, as did the decision by UNESCO in the late 1990s that declared the endangered argan forest area a biosphere reserve. Conservationists, development agencies and entrepreneurs all sought ways to protect the tree and encourage the local economy growth.
In the beginning, things didn't go quite as planned. Local women couldn't deliver a high-end product; their homemade oil was often packaged in leftover plastic bottles and sold on the side of the road or in local souqs (traditional markets), or marketplaces.
Charrouf decided to found cooperatives to tackle the problems head on and start employing women who had discovered argan oil's benefits to begin with. 
The ooperatives now employ approximately 800 women full and part-time, many of them poor, widowed or divorced. The majority of the women work at cracking the stones; for that, they are paid an average of $100 a month and receive a share in the cooperatives' profits. To ensure the quality of the product, Charrouf replaced much of the traditional extraction methods with a mechanized process that extended the oil's shelf life from six months to two years. Women still crack the stones, because no machine can match their dexterity. On the conservation front, each of Charrouf's workers plants 10 new argan trees a year. Most significantly, as the region's economic growth is increasingly tied to the argan, villagers have become much more reluctant to let their goats graze in the trees. In addition, the Amal cooperative in Tamanar received the International Slow Food Award for biodiversity in 2001. Drawn by increasing press coverage, 100 tourists descend upon the Amal cooperative each day, buying edible oil and cosmetics products. In response to increases demand Charrouf recently grouped the cooperatives under one umbrella organization in order to standardize their operation and accounting systems and to expand their bargaining power. This organization is called GEI TARGANINE and it has been created since October 2003. GEI TARGANINE also helps these cooperatives to get in international quality system.
In light of the cooperatives' success, it's hard to believe that Charrouf ever faced any resistance. But at the beginning, men scoffed at the notion that she could realize her plans and that the women were capable of running co-op. But as the men saw the economic benefit of the cooperatives, they began encouraging this project. Rather than tearing the fabric of community apart, the cooperatives created jobs and removed the need of urban migration. Besides offering women jobs paying them a decent wage, Charrouf offers classes in reading and arithmetic. That impacts their children well, because once they realize the issue of education, women are more likely to send their kids to school.
GEI TARGANINE product line, for natural beauty and health
ARGANIUM : a natural beauty serum
- Moisturising and nourishing: with Arganium, a beauty serum made of 100% argan oil, it offers your skin a new vitality and complete beauty care. While regenerating, argan oil is well known for its moisturising, nourishing and protective effect on the skin.
- Regenerating and activating: argan oil is frequently used in traditional medicine in order to heal scars ( e.g. such as those caused by acne ) or to soothe rheumatic pain.
- Diminishing wrinkles : rich in essential fatty acids, argan oil re-vitalizes the skin and activates the cell's vital functions, thus diminishing wrinkles. Furthermore it protects the skin from external aggressions such as the sun while neutralising free radicals.
is thus free from well known hazelnut odour which is noticeable in the edible oil.
ARGANATI : 100% pure argan oil (Certified as organic product)
ARGANATI is exclusively made out of argan almonds. It is produced with ancestral know-how of Berbers women which is transmitted from generation and with modern means in order to fit
international norms. 30 kg of fruits and more than 15 hours of work are required for the production of one liter of argan oil.
- Reduction of cholesterol level : thanks to its high concentration inessential fatty acids ( linoleic acid : 34% ) and its high percentage in unsaturated fatty acids ( 80% ), natural argan oil reduces cholesterol levels and prevents atherosclerosis. It is recommended to all those who wish to lead a balanced and healthy life. ARGANATI is delicious in salad sauce and will give a special taste to your vegetables, fishes and cooked meals.
AMLOU BELDI: a tasty spread
Amlou Beldi is a tasty spread made out of almonds, honey and argan oil. It is renowned for its aphrodisiac virtues and its deliciousness on toast for breakfast.
GEI Argan oil Production Process
1. The Argan fruits are mature ( around June ), they are dried.
2. Dried flesh is removed though a machine
3. The resulting nuts are manually crushed between two stones by women in order to
obtain an intact almond
4. These almonds are then slightly roasted for culinary oil only ( Arganati )
- Temperature : 100°C for roasting machine
- 30 kg of almonds need 2 hours for roasting
- Although raw material is heated through roasting and extracting process, the peroxides value are definitely under international norms as mentioned in the here enclosed chemical specifications
5. The almonds are then pressed through a special oil press to give argan oil (the equipment is manufactured in Germany )
- Argan oil is made of kernel of argan seeds without any additives.
- It is 100% pure natural products
6. The oil is then decanted into bottle and finally filtered in a special oil filter
This Argan oil is got solely by using kernels of Argan seeds. The oil doesn't contain any additives. All GEI TARGANINE products are certified by ECOCERT as organic ones.
