From Taroudant we had nearly 500kms to drive before arriving at the Sahara desert.
Harry was still recovering from his surgery so we decided to break the journey down into small chunks, stopping at little towns along the way.
It rained! 1 day of heavy rain. It’s not enough but it was a joyful day for everyone. The first rain in this area in 10 months.
Our first stop was Taliouine.
Rachel and I left Harry in the van to sleep and went out to explore.
First we visited the old abandoned town
Then we headed to the new town
We found a saffron cooperative where we met Nashette. We ended up chatting for over an hour. She made us some delicious saffron tea.
There are only around 6,000 people living in Taliouine, and yet this tiny little place is one of main exporters of saffron worldwide.
November is harvest time
Each flower produces 3 little pieces of saffron. To get 1g of saffron, 150 flowers are needed.
Here in Taliouine, the saffron is grown and harvested by familes. There is no large scale farming. Every member of the family joins in.
We learnt that the beginning of harvest time has shifted from mid October to first or second week in November due to the change in weather. Saffron needs cooler weather and it’s staying hotter for longer. Last year the weather stayed warm for too long and there was no harvest. This was a massive blow for the town as saffron is the only source of income for nearly all of the families that live here. Luckily, this year’s harvest is good. The cool weather came just in time.
After leaving the saffron cooperative we stumbled upon an artist and calligrapher called Moulid Nidouissadan
He taught us about the Amazigh (Berber) languages and how they are among the oldest written and spoken languages in the world. We had a go at learning the Tifinagh script, used to write the Berber languages. And we saw how he makes his natural inks from saffron and other herbs, spices and animal products.
Mouid fights for equality for all and women’s rights. He showed us how he has created an emblem of free women of the world
As a gift Moulid scribed mine and Rachel’s names using Tifinagh, with his ‘free woman’ symbol on each side
