A large number of rural women in the Tata region are grouping together in agricultural, manufacturing, or artisanal cooperatives in a spirit of entrepreneurship aimed at guaranteeing their economic independence and demonstrating their ability to propose modern and sustainable solutions to a host of economic development problems.

The women of the Tata region are now aware of the importance of creating cooperatives and working within professional groups that allow them to effectively implement their know-how and thus contribute to promoting local products, which are the pride of their region.

Indeed, these women benefit, within the framework of the cooperatives they manage, from the support of the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH), launched by HM King Mohammed VI in 2005, and a set of governmental and international organisations with a view to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that Morocco has adopted.

In this perspective, the president of the "Doudrar for Argan" cooperative, created in 2007, Ms Khadija Belchich, stressed in a statement to the MAP that her cooperative, which works in the field of argan derivatives, as well as in beekeeping products and aromatic and medicinal plants, has contributed to the promotion of Douar Bouzrif (Tizeght commune) and has acted as a stimulant for other women to create their own cooperative.

Ms Khadija also praised the support her cooperative received from the INDH, the Agency for the Promotion and Economic and Social Development of the Southern Provinces of the Kingdom, and the provincial directorate of agriculture in Tata, noting that this project, which she set up with the help of her friends, constitutes a source of income that has allowed them to substantially improve their living conditions.

She also called on the parties concerned to deploy more efforts to support this kind of initiative that contributes to the promotion of local products, just as she stressed the need to create spaces dedicated to the exhibition and marketing of their products.

For her part, Ms Meryem Aït Esseyed, who created a carpet cooperative named "Al Ajial for Carpets" in Douar Taksel (Adis commune) with her colleagues, indicated that her project will be expanded after the acquisition of land with the support of the INDH to the tune of 30%.

She also noted that her cooperative, which participated in a set of exhibitions in Tantan and Guelmim, was awarded the prize for the best stand in 2011, in addition to its participation in the televised competitions of "Sanâat Bladi" and "Amhar Sounae Taklidiyin". Occasions that allowed the women of the cooperative to exchange their experiences with women coming from all regions of the Kingdom, she said.

International Women's Day constitutes an occasion to pay a sustained tribute to the rural woman who has the courage to defy difficult living conditions and who spares no effort to improve her living conditions and contribute to the economic development of her region.