Moroccan women gather in cooperative to extract the coveted oil from argan seeds.

To access social dignity and economic integration, local women in the arid Southwest Essaouira region of Morocco founded a female-exclusive cooperation to capitalize on their “liquid gold’s” know-how. Besides generating income for poor women, the cooperation contributes to environment protection since its members help replant argan trees. The argan forest provides a “green curtain” against the relentless desertification. Moreover, the community is an outstanding marriage of traditional skills and progress. The difficult,  time-consuming and century-old extraction techniques have been put to sustainable economic use. The tree has medicinal properties, its oil both nourishes and beautifies and the final argan oil product is being sold on their own website and throughout the world.

The techniques of argan oil extraction are ancestral

There you have an inspiring illustration of successful local community involvement that actually goes beyond fair trade and helps the economic activity to take off while protecting the environment. We are proud to carry argan oil and promote their business.

This year, I’m back in Paris for the American holiday, but I already have in mind a dinner for my own family here -we won’t be celebrating Thanksgiving like my American friends, but I love the tradition of sharing a long, savory meal with my closest and dearest, so I’ll be doing it nonetheless. Here’s what’s on my menu:

Starter: oven goat cheese and honey crostini, which features my own stash of Alilli Morocco lavender honey.

Main Course: Duck Confit with oven roasted semi-sliced potatoes, each with a side of black truffles. My duck confit has a secret ingredient that my family can never quite name, but they love nonetheless: Nutmeg! A tiny bit of freshly grated nutmeg gives it “un je ne sais quoi”…

Salad: Red and Gold beet salad, with fennel, and a lovely Alili Olive Oil, with fresh squeezed lime juice and fleur de sel.

Dessert: Ricotta Lemon Cheesecake.

Enjoy your holiday! Oh, and don’t forget the little dishes of ultra healthy argan oil for dipping bread.

Argan Oil is high in essential fatty acids and vitamin E, making it great for all sorts of skin conditions such as eczema, wrinkles, and dry skin. This exceptional oil is also high in phenols and carotenes. But “food-grade” argan oil is also being purchased by the ladies for cosmetic purposes since it is so rich in fatty acids (oleic). It is said to be nature’s anti aging skin food, beneficial to the skin’s overall structure and elasticity, efficient against UV exposure and in treating psoriasis as well as reducing sebum production (National Center for Biotechnology Information , U.S. National Library of Medicine). As delicious as it is healthful, Argan Oil is perfect sprinkled on salads, couscous, or with grilled fish. Moroccans have used it for bread dipping for decades, and it’s recently become one of the culinary world’s latest ‘cult’ ingredients. The slightly orange color and distinct aroma and delicate flavor makes Argan Oil a delightful replacement for truffle oil or extra virgin olive oil in any recipe.

Try our organic Argan Oil by Alili Morocco. Currently on sale for a limited time only.

Organic Argan Oil