MOROCCO SHOPPING GUIDE

be prepared for Morocco’s climate and customs

How to find fair and unique souvenirs on Morocco’s Souks

Even though the two of us are not big shoppers, Morocco and its colorful souks were screaming “go shopping” at us. As we started exploring to get an overview and it seemed like the products offered varied little across cities.
With more visitors coming, gentrification and souvenirs from China have found their way to Morocco. Follow our tips below to get the best experience while investing your tourist dollars the most responsible way you can.

We have reviewed the most common souvenirs found in Morocco and listed where you can find fair, high-quality, and impacting tokens.

Avoid buying gentrification or imported souvenirs

Before you blindly start shopping or get husked away by a salesman, walk around and get an overview. Often you’ll see the exact same product a million times over, which is a good indicator for mass production. Until today Morrocans are very proud of their handicrafts. It’d be a shame to buy a knock-off souvenir!

Walk away from the main street

As so often you find the true gems off the beaten track. Take the chance to get seriously lost and discover the narrow alleys. You’ll find small shops which often still produce handcrafts the traditional way. Some areas in Morocco are designed to cater to tourists. Entire medinas seem to sell the same products with salesmen speaking every language of the world. While the choice may be wider and communication easier, we strictly urge you to walk away from the main streets and even shop in smaller villages or cities. Not only will you find better quality, but also the chance to truly support Moroccan artisans.

Shop at cooperatives

Morocco is a hotspot for traditional crafts. Some of them are manufactured in a way that empowers. In a cooperative, the workers run and control the production. The profits and benefits are shared among members.

Check out the empowering and fair cooperatives below:

Cherry Buttons Cooperative, Sefrou: Amina Yabis enables Moroccan females to access to education and a voice through traditional Moroccan textile crafts.

Al Kawtar Women’s Cooperative, Marrakech: Al Kawtar cooperative promotes physically disabled Moroccan women.

Artisanat des Femmes de Khenifra, Khenifra, Morocco: The cooperative uses the traditional jellaba buttons to produce contemporary accessories

Arganatal, Tidzi: The cooperative which provides women with fair labor opportunities produces traditional argan oil products in the Essaouira region

Don’t let salesmen pressure you

Haggling is part of Moroccan culture, but it might get too intense. Whenever you feel compelled, walk away immediately, and don’t feel bad about it. Often enough have we gotten ourselves into a store, were offered tea and after some friendly chatting were convinced to buy. What might not seem like too big of a deal in the beginning, really started to aggravate us later. Some of the souvenirs we bout still remind us of this uneasy feeling. Don’t feel bad to say “thanks for the invite, but I’m leaving now.”

Shopping in Morocco – A personal resume

Shopping is not necessarily the most relaxing activity in Morocco, and admittedly, we overdid it.

Some of the souvenirs from Morocco we absolutely love:
Hand made face soap
Natural Amber Parfum
Cups bought in Fez

And some which we wish we wouldn’t have bought:

Pillowcases: Dani’s first purchase in Marrakech. Sadly they never made it past the first wash
Tea Glasses: no matter what they say: you can NOT put them in the dishwasher
Lamp: Dani got a nasty electric shock