The Impact of Globalization on Small Scale Artisans in Azrou, Morocco An Interactive Qualifying Project Submitted to the Faculty of WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE In conjunction with Al-Akhawayn University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science By ____________________________ Wadii Bellamine _______________________________ Marouane Afiri Date: January 08, 2007 Approved: _________________________________ Professor Bland Addison, Major Advisor _________________________________ Professor Tahar El-Korchi, Co-Advisor Abstract Faced with the impact of globalization upon business productivity and the consumer’s expectations and demands in current-day Morocco, Moroccan small scale artisans are struggling to compete and earn income to survive. This new phenomenon is due to a smaller interest in the handicraft sector both by the state and by the young consumers, whereas until today, the most basic infrastructural needs for successful business such as affordable transportation and affordable means of publicity are absent in remote villages such as Azrou. The reduced interest in the handicraft sector from the upcoming generation is also a result of globalization and threatens to lead this sector to extinction. Thankfully, the state has come to realize these emerging phenomena and has began an effort to improve the handicraft sector and keep it alive since this last has represented a major source of income for Morocco in the past. Our general approach was to study the small scale artisans specifically in Azrou in order to acquire a deep understanding of the problem, and through studied successful cases, propose solutions and recommendations for the artisans in Azrou as an alternative to the state’s strategy for the improvement of the artisanal sector in Morocco. The results of our research show that there are ways for the small-scale artisans to improve their businesses with the means they currently have, and these include the use of e-commerce, taking advantage of ethical tourism to publicize and help their businesses grow. The implementation of these recommended solutions will surely aid these artisans, but it is the task of the state to improve or develop the infrastructure needed to ease access to e-commerce and the tourist sector, ultimately ensuring the long-term prosperity of the small-scale artisan business and, ultimately, their quality of life. Acknowledgements We would like to address our special thanks and gratitude to all those that made this research paper possible and helped us along the way. First, our acknowledgements go to Prof. Bland Addison for undertaking the tedious task of accompanying us to our research destinations, helping us with interviews and contacts, overseeing our activities, and making excellent suggestions for editing this paper. We would also like to thank Prof. Tahar El-Korchi for proposing this IQP idea to us, keeping track of our progress, helping us find contacts, and making remarkable suggestions for re-editing. We must not forget to also display our gratitude to Hoceine Zahri, who gave us insightful information about the Artisanat of Azrou, the Ministry of Culture’s objectives and past activities, and about the handicraft industry in general. Our acknowledgements also go to Sharon Keld, a Peace Corps Volunteer who did not hesitate to show us around town, take us to key people to meet, and inform us about the city of Azrou, the Artisanat, and what her mission is with the Peace Corps. Thanks also go to Peace Corps Volunteer Katherine Dyne who informed us about artisans in the surrounding regions of Azrou as well as information about how the Peace Corps have been helping these artisans. Youssef Ouahmane, the stone carver, Mohammed Abdeljabbar, the wood carver, Said, the metal carver, Mohammed, the other wood carver, and Fatima, the president of the women’s weaving cooperative, are all people that were very kind and welcoming to us, and were not reluctant to share with us their most troublesome concerns. Our utmost gratitude goes to all of you. Last but not least, we can’t forget Lee Wilbur, the Peace Corps Volunteer who worked in the Azrou Artisanat in the past, and whom was the primary contact who pointed us to most of the people we met in Azrou and Ifrane. Finally, we would like to thank all the merchants in the Azrou bazaar, the Azrou souk, and Fez, who also aided us greatly with our research and were very kind. Once again, we are grateful that all of these people made our experience doing this IQP pleasant and enjoyable. Thank you. Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................... 2 Acknowledgements .................................................. 3 Table of Contents .................................................... 4 List of Figures .......................................................... 7 List of Tables ........................................................... 8 Definitions ................................................................ 9 Executive Summary .............................................. 10 1. Introduction ....................................................... 22 2. Globalization in Morocco ................................. 23 2.1. The Temporary Crises ........................................................................................ 24 2.2. Poverty and Inequality ....................................................................................... 25 2.3. The Integration of Women Into Development ................................................. 26 2.4. Education and Literacy ...................................................................................... 27 2.5. Is Morocco ready for Globalization? ................................................................ 28 3. Morocco: Background ...................................... 30 3.1. History: The Search for prosperity after Colonialism ..................................... 30 3.2. Moroccan Government ....................................................................................... 31 3.2.1. The “Gouvernement d'Alternance":.......................................................... 31 3.3. International Politics ........................................................................................... 31 3.3.1. Morocco/Algeria Crisis: ............................................................................... 32 3.4. ;ational Politics .................................................................................................. 32 3.4.1. Democracy in Morocco: ............................................................................... 32 3.4.2. The Rural World in Morocco: ..................................................................... 33 3.5. Moroccan Culture:............................................................................................... 33 3.6. Economy................................................................................................................ 35 3.6.1. Tourism:........................................................................................................ 35 3.6.2. Agriculture in Morocco: .............................................................................. 36 3.6.3. Fishing in Morocco: ..................................................................................... 37 3.6.4. Textile Sector in Morocco: .......................................................................... 37 3.6.5. The Moroccan Craft Industry in Danger .................................................. 39 3.7. Azrou:.................................................................................................................... 41 3.7.1. Artisanal Center of Azrou: ......................................................................... 42 3.8. Background Conclusion ...................................................................................... 46 4. The Problem ...................................................... 51 4.1. Problems in Azrou and ;eighboring Regions ................................................... 51 4.1.1 Problems described by Youssef the stone carver: ....................................... 52 4.1.2 Problems described by Said the metal worker: .......................................... 56 4.1.3. Problems described by Hoceine Zahri, the President of the Artisanat .... 59 4.1.4. Problems described by PCV Katherine Dyne: .......................................... 61 4.2. General Problems in Moroccan Artisanal Production .................................... 63 4.2.1. The future of Artisanat is uncertain........................................................... 63 4.2.2. The deterioration of quality ........................................................................ 65 Conclusion:….. ........................................................................................................ 67 5. Strategy of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism .................................................................. 68 5.1. The Ministry’s strategy for 2015 ........................................................................ 68 6. Case Studies ....................................................... 80 6.1. Case study: E-commerce in Morocco ................................................................ 80 Case 1: Microchoix.ma ........................................................................................... 80 Case 2: Kasbahouse.com ........................................................................................ 83 6.2. Case study: ethical tourism in Fez ...................................................................... 86 7. Recommended solutions.................................... 90 7.1. E-commerce .......................................................................................................... 90 7.1.1 Brief history of e-commerce .......................................................................... 92 7.1.2 Advantages and disadvantages of e-commerce .......................................... 93 7.1.4. E-commerce barriers specific to handicraft trade .................................... 93 Digital images lack the true feeling of the object: ............................................ 93 Digital compressed image colors are not accurate ........................................... 95 Customers expect high service standards ......................................................... 96 The company’s reputation, financial security, and privacy: .......................... 98 7.1.5. Key success factors for e-commerce websites .......................................... 103 Define the website audience and strategy ....................................................... 104 Integrate with other processes ......................................................................... 105 Register with search engines and optimize ranking ...................................... 105 Build links to the website .................................................................................. 106 Start an email newsletter .................................................................................. 107 Payment processing .......................................................................................... 107 7.1.5. E-commerce options................................................................................... 109 On-line catalogs ................................................................................................. 109 Design……… ..................................................................................................... 110 Email……… ...................................................................................................... 111 Multimedia……................................................................................................ 112 Market information .......................................................................................... 113 Future opportunities ......................................................................................... 115 7.2. Ethical tourism .................................................................................................. 120 7.2.1. How ethical tourism operates ................................................................... 122 7.2.2. How the Azrou Artisanat can take advantage of ethical tourism ......... 125 Fair-trade and presentation ............................................................................. 125 Publicity…… ..................................................................................................... 130 8. Appendices ...................................................... 136 8.1. Appendix X1: History of Morocco .................................................................. 136 8.2. Appendix X2: ;ew Government: ;ew Opportunities ................................... 138 8.3. Appendix X3: The Moroccan/Algerian Crisis: ............................................. 142 8.4. Appendix X4: Democracy in Morocco: ........................................................... 144 8.5. Appendix X5: The Rural World in Morocco ................................................. 147 8.6. Appendix X6: Moroccan Culture .................................................................... 150 8.7. Appendix X7: Moroccan Tourism ................................................................... 154 8.8. Appendix X8: Moroccan Agriculture ............................................................. 157 8.9. Appendix X9: The Fishing Sector ................................................................... 159 8.10. Appendix A: I.Q.P Literature ........................................................................ 161 8.11. Appendix B: E-Mail from Peace Corps Member Lee Wilbur .................... 164 8.12. Appendix C: Tables and Statistics ................................................................ 166 8.12.1. WTO: Tourism Receipts, Africa, 1990-2005 ......................................... 166 8.12.2. Income from exports of handicraft products from Morocco: ............. 167 8.13. Appendix D: Miscellaneous ............................................................................. 169 8.13.1 . COFTA Moroccan Member .................................................................... 169 8.13.2. IFAT Membership Fees: ......................................................................... 169 8.13.3. How the Azrou Artisanat can make business cards and a Logo ......... 172 8.14. Appendix E : Photos ....................................................................................... 174 8.14.1. Pictures of the artisans of Azrou and their shops ................................. 174 8.14.2. Pictures of the Azrou Artisanat’s showroom ........................................ 177 8.14.3. Other pictures............................................................................................ 181 8.15. Appendix F: Investigation: Fez....................................................................... 182 9. Sources: Bibliography and Links .................. 186 List of Figures Figure 1: Geographic location of Azrou ........................................................................... 41 Figure 2: Entrance to the Artisanal Center in Azrou ........................................................ 42 Figure 3: Marouane Afiri (left), Mohammed Abdeljabbar (right) .................................... 43 Figure 4: Marouane interviewing the other Mohammed (wood carver)........................... 44 Figure 5: Part of the Showroom ........................................................................................ 45 Figure 6: Wooden crafts, paintings, and metal pictures.................................................... 45 Figure 7: Textiles and Berber carpets made by the artisanat’s women weaving cooperative ........................................................................................................................ 46 Figure 8: Said’s Workshop ............................................................................................... 56 Figure 9: The evolution of handicraft exports. See Appendix C, Table 3 ........................ 65 Figure 10: FTO label ....................................................................................................... 100 Figure 11: Step by step e-commerce development process according to Heeks ............ 103 Figure 12: Supply flows for craft producers before introduction of Internet technology. ......................................................................................................................................... 114 Figure 13: Information and supply flow charts with the ‘e-commerce lens’ ................. 114 Figure 14: Current information flow between fair-trade stakeholders ........................... 116 Figure 15: Improved information flow between fair trade stakeholders ........................ 117 Figure 16: International Tourist Arrivals (“Facts & Figures”) ....................................... 120 Figure 17: Morrocco Tourism Reciepts (1990-2005) ..................................................... 121 Figure 18: Ecosystem model for traditional tourism as interpreted by us ...................... 124 Figure 19: Left: Afiri Marouane, Right: Abdeljabbar Mohammed ................................ 127 Figure 20: Mohamed’s wood shop: presentation ............................................................ 128 Figure 21: Said’s metal workshop: presentation ............................................................. 129 Figure 22: "Chez Ali" ..................................................................................................... 151 Figure 23: “Moroccan Jug Market” ................................................................................ 151 Figure 24: “Moroccan Mosaic” ...................................................................................... 152 Figure 25: Abdelouahed Assou carving wook in his shop at the Azrou Artisanat ......... 174 Figure 26: Marouane interviewing Abdelouahed Assou ................................................ 174 Figure 27: Mohammed Abdeljabbar’s workshop ........................................................... 175 Figure 28: Marouane interviewing the other Mohammed (wood carver) ....................... 175 Figure 29: Said’s metal workshop .................................................................................. 176 Figure 30: Said’s metal workshop display ...................................................................... 176 Figure 31: Part of the showroom .................................................................................... 177 Figure 32: Wooden crafts, paintings, and metal pictures................................................ 177 Figure 33: Textiles and Berber carpets made by the artisanat’s women weaving cooperative ...................................................................................................................... 178 Figure 34: Berber Carpet made using straw ................................................................... 178 Figure 35: Leather seats .................................................................................................. 179 Figure 36: Leather lamps ................................................................................................ 179 Figure 37: Wool and cotton hand-woven Berber clothes ............................................... 180 Figure 38: Youssef’s unique gypsum lamps ................................................................... 180 Figure 39: The Team (From left to right: Prof. Addison, Hoceine, Wadii, Marouane, Sharon) ............................................................................................................................ 181 List of Tables Table 1: WTO Tourism Receipts, Africa 1990-2005 .................................................... 166 Table 2: Evolution of exportation of handicraft products by country (From Morocco to the listed countries, currency in MAD)........................................................................... 167 Table 3: Export of Handicraft Products from Morocco by nature of product (1990-2000, currency in MAD) ........................................................................................................... 168 Table 4: IFAT Membership Fees ................................................................................... 171 Definitions The following terms are used recurrently throughout this paper. It is therefore important to know what each variation means. artisanal: having to do with the handicraft art. artisanat: the handicraft industry. Artisanat (the): the Azrou Center of handicraft. Executive Summary What is the impact of globalization on the small scale artisans of Morocco and specifically in the Azrou region, what has been done to counter these effects, and what are some solutions to resolve these issues? This research project aimed to focus the main part of its activities on understanding the problems faced to date by artisans working in the Artisanat of Azrou and nearby regions, but information was also gathered from Fez, where the handicraft sector is more prosperous. While the research included the general scope of the problem faced nationwide, and how the adverse effects of globalization contributed to these issues, the solutions proposed are geared more towards the specific needs of the artisans of Azrou, with the goal of empowering them through technological and ethical means for self-sustenance. The Problem The problem can be divided into two parts: one social, and one economic. The social aspect includes issues arising from lack of interest in the handicraft sector from the young consumer and future artisan. It also involves the difficulty in survival and low quality of life for small-scale artisans. The economic aspect consists of difficulty in publicity, lack of financial means, lack of affordable transportation, and low rate of income for the small-scale artisan. The problem was addressed by first focusing on the Azrou artisans using a case-study approach to illustrate a snapshot of the more general