Moroccan to open higher institute for traditional crafts

2008-09-25

Morocco’s government wants to boost the traditional crafts sector by opening the first higher institute to train professional craftsmen. Artisans are excited about the initiative but fear competition.

By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 25/09/08

[Getty Images] Morocco's government has announced plans for a higher institute for traditional crafts. Artisans welcome the proposal, but fear greater competition.

Moroccan Secretary of State for Traditional Crafts Anis Birou said earlier this month that the government is planning to open the country's first higher institute for training in traditional crafts by 2010. The aim is to train and equip professionals in the industry.

The initiative comes in the wake of a survey of professional craftsmen conducted in the first half of this year, showing a dire need to boost the sector in order to meet the demands of the international market.

"We don't have the people to call on when confronted with simple technical problems," the study concludes, such as "what size gas oven to choose, what production process to use to speed up this operation, and so on."

The government agreed. There is a fear that professional and experienced craftsmen will gradually disappear if their skills are not preserved.

"The goal is to create craftsmen in all traditional crafts so they can carry on the torch of traditional crafts," Birou said.

The new institute will train and graduate managers who will be able to improve the production process, particularly in the health and safety field, with respect to the environment, and to modernise equipment and put innovation at the heart of the sector.

Graduates will be expected to adapt the design of handcrafted products to suit the taste of Moroccan and foreign consumers.

The institute, in addition to training professional craftsmen and women, will also train young people to structure the crafts industry to produce reliable supply from raw materials to export. They will be looking for entrepreneurs and team-builders capable of getting people to work together.

According to Birou, a good example is Tunisia, where they have the Higher School of Design Technology and Science. The school's principle is to where transfer knowledge and develop artistic research to foster creative talent among the students.

Professional artisans have welcomed this initiative with a wary smile. Some have concerns about competition from the highly-trained young people.

Bouâzza Batali, a leather craftsman, said that a few years ago craftsmen would train the apprentices themselves. But these days, few young people are going into the profession.

"A higher education institute could restore young people’s confidence in this sector, which is in need of a renaissance," Batali said."But I hope established craftsmen won’t be marginalised."

According to the Federation of Craft Businesses (FEA), the courses and teaching content for the modules will need to be put together through a collective consensus-based approach. There also needs to be a cultural background developed through the mutual sharing of research, theory and land.

Meanwhile, the Culture-UNESCO programme manager, Mohamed Ould Khattar, stressed that UNESCO is fully open to the possibility of cooperating with the creation of the new training establishment.

Ould Khattar believed that crafts represent the heart of Moroccan identity and that their hallmark of authenticity is recognised throughout the world.

"It is essential for Morocco to have the human resources to contribute through crafts to the socio-economic development of the country."