Liquid gold: livelihood and loss
“Young people - they care. They know that this is the world that they're going to grow up in, that they're going to spend the rest of their lives in. But, I think it's more idealistic than that. They actually believe that humanity, human species, has no right to destroy and despoil regardless.” – Sir David Attenborough
A girl at a local cooperative in southern Morocco carries out the generations-old traditional process of argan oil extraction by cracking the nuts between stones. This ancient female-led handcraft is exactly what makes authentic argan oil so special. A cooperative worker quoted in the Independent in 2025 said: "We were born and raised here. These traditions come from nature, what our parents and grandparents have taught us and what we’ve inherited."
2025 marks the UN International Year of Cooperatives, and 11 October was the International Day of the Girl Child. In southern Morocco, an argan oil cooperative union has empowered 1,200 women with stable jobs and financial independence, improving gender equality and household wellbeing in rural areas. These cooperatives also support environmental sustainability by promoting new approaches to managing argan tree forests.
Despite this and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve status, argan forests are still in worrying decline, shrinking by hundreds of hectares each year.
We all have a role to play in protecting this treasure. If you buy argan oil, research the source. Look for cooperatives that practice sustainable harvesting and fair trade. Support local initiatives that combine conservation with community development. And recognise that behind every bottle of argan oil is the story of the women who extracted the oil and of the trees that have been growing in the Moroccan soil for millions of years!
