Launched last week, the Quality and Training Caravan, organised under the theme "Together for the building of the generation of quality", will continue until 27 June. The event is dedicated to more than 2,000 artisans from different provinces and prefectures, according to a precise programme and in accordance with the needs and particularities of each region. "The choice of artisans participating in the work of this caravan was made according to the required rules of transparency, by giving particular importance to the participation of women, particularly those from the rural world and young project leaders," stresses Hassan Marzouqi, president of the Handicrafts Commission at the Regional Council. The event is declined through a series of academic and technical conferences, as well as several workshops around themes linked, among others, to the art of fashion design, health and professional safety, as well as quality and promotion. All activities are led by executives and specialists.

Samir Yazidi, governor of the Tiznit prefecture, for his part, stressed the importance of this event whose ambition, in particular, is to organise a training and upgrading cycle for the benefit of artisans, as well as to stamp the artisanal products of the province, particularly goldsmithing and pottery, with the seal of quality. "This caravan is part of the implementation of the national plan developed by the supervisory ministry and whose axes should all be concretised by 2015. This plan aims at the rehabilitation of the sector and its organisation, support for artisans through the development of their marketing and promotion techniques, as well as their access to continuous training. As of today, more than 300 artisans, evolving in the local babouche sector, have benefited from this programme," he indicated.

Being a lever for local development and a job-generating sector, it is only natural that handicrafts should be the subject of particular interest. Which should manifest itself through similar initiatives, leading to the accompaniment and support of artisans. Likewise, it is imperative to guarantee the sustainability of handicrafts, the training of new generations of artisans, the promotion of artisanal products and investment in quality. The programmed workshops aim to detect the aesthetic particularities of creation among the different participants. This concerns in particular the usual function of the articles and their aesthetic function. Over time, the artisanal product has inherited artistic modes and genres, traditions and expressions embodying the efforts made by artisans with a view to preserving this exceptional heritage.

Valorisation of the argan tree: Communication workshops were organised last week by the National Agency for the Development of Oasis Zones and the Argan Tree (ANDZOA) in the provinces of Guelmim, Assa Zag and Tata. The work focused on the development strategy of the said zones, as well as the modalities of its implementation. In total, 100 million dirhams have been mobilised for the realisation of a series of socio-economic development projects, which were the subject of several conventions initialled by the communes under the three provinces. This budgetary envelope was injected into the implementation of priority programmes relating to access to basic infrastructure, drinking water supply, electrification, hydro-agricultural developments, the rehabilitation of school establishments and the realisation of projects with a social and cultural aspect. This strategy aims at the valorisation and preservation of natural resources. The ANDZOA, it was stressed during these workshops, aims to federate all actors for the establishment of sustainable and equitable development at the level of oasis and argan zones.