The argan tree (argania spinosa) grows only wild, and can be found only in South Morocco, especially around the Sous mountains and valley. It has many uses :

• Its fruit, the argan nut, gives both cosmetics and cooking oil.
• The pressed cake is used to feed cattle.
• Its wood is used for firewood or furniture.
• Its leaves, and the pulp of the nut, are used to feed the goats, which can often be found perched on its branches (the kernels, too hard to be digested, are later picked up to extract the oil). The goats attract tourists who stop, take a few pictures and give a few dirham to the goat keepers… who see this more and more as their due
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The argan tree can be found in an area of 700 to 800 thousand hectares, in dry and semi-dry areas in the South, between Agadir and Essaouira. The argan grove was recognized as a biosphere reserve by Unesco in 1999.

It has a short, gnarled trunk, eight to ten metres high, numerous branches, starting very low over the ground, and covered with thorny leaves. It produces a green-yellow fruit, bigger than a nut, oblong, hiding two to three almond-shaped nuts. Its deep, profuse roots seek out water even in high temperatures, so helping to stabilize the soil and fight erosion.

Argan oil, slightly darker than olive oil, has a very refined hazelnut taste. It has cosmetic, cooking and medical qualities.

It is very good for moisturising and making the skin supple, it strengthen nails, and can turn dry hair smooth and shiny. It is traditionally used as a cure for chickenpox, acne and rheumatism. Like olive oil, it is also recommended for its anti-cholesterol properties.
It is used in salads, soups, tajines and couscous, or for frying eggs.

A mixture of argan oil, almonds and honey, known as “amelou”, is eaten on bread in a traditional Moroccan breakfast.

Argan trees and oil support almost three million rural people, either through nut sales, or through the employment opportunities for women, in various cooperatives.

The production is organized in several cooperatives grouped under the brand name “Targanine”. They distribute three products, Arganati, a cooking oil (the nut is grilled, and the oil tastes like hazelnut); Arganium, a cosmetic oil (not grilled, and tasteless); and Amlou Beldi, the Berber version of Nutella!

Nuts are broken by women who earn 40 dirham a day. Once broken, they may be grilled, depending on their intended use, then cold-pressed, and finally bottled locally. The Tagarine group’s cooperatives each employ between 40 and 250 women (in Tamanar, the biggest one).

The different states of argan nut.

Tagarine cooperatives and the site of the GIE. (Economical Interest Group)

Amal Cooperative in Tamanar
(Amal : Hope in Arabic)

Address : Village de l'Arganier, Tamanar,
Province d' Essaouira
Contact GIE
Situation Map

Ajddigue Cooperative in Tidzi
(Ajddigue : Flower in Berber)

Address : Commune rurale de Tidzi
Contact GIE
Situation : Carte

Targan't Cooperative in Aït Baha
(Targan't : Argan Tress in Berber)

Address :Ait Baha Province Chtouka - Ait Baha
Contact GIE
Situation : Carte

Taitmatine Cooperative in Tiout

Address : Commune Rurale de Tiout
Province de Taroudant
Contact GIE
Situation : Carte