Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Liz Waid
Voice 2
And I'm Joshua Leo. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
A woman walks through a small store in Paris, France. She chooses a small container. The writing on the container says that it will make skin feel and look younger. At another store in Chicago, United States, a cook pours special oil on a salad for dinner. The people waiting to eat are excited to eat this food. And in Essaouira, Morocco, a group of women sit together. They are crushing seeds between two large stones. What do all these people have in common? Argan Oil, one of the most rare oils in the world. Today's Spotlight is on this special oil and the women who make it.
Voice 2
For hundreds of years, women in Morocco have made oil from the seeds of the argan tree. Morocco is a country in Northwest Africa. Some areas of Morocco are very dry. In these dry conditions, most plants do not grow well. But this is the perfect environment for the argan tree. Southwestern Morocco is the only place in the world where these trees grow.
Voice 1
The argan forest in Morocco is a very special place. The trees help to stop the spread of the desert. In dry areas, strong winds can blow away soil. But the strong roots of the argan tree hold soil together. The argan forests stop the soil from blowing away.
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The argan tree can live for a very long time. It takes between 40 to 60 years for a tree to become an adult. And scientists say that the tree may live for 200 years to 400 years. But this long growing time can be a problem. When someone cuts down an argan tree, it takes a very long time for another one to grow and replace it.
Voice 1
In recent years, the argan forests have become smaller. Today, more than one third of the forest is gone. Too many people are cutting down the trees for firewood. Also, people are using too many argan seeds. They are not planting enough of the seeds to grow more trees.
Voice 2
But the Berber people depend on the argan tree. The women in these areas of Morocco make a special product from the trees: argan oil. They have been making this oil in the same way for many years. Berber women pass down the method from generation to generation. The women take the fruit from the argan tree or gather them from the ground. Then, they take the seeds out of the fruit. When these seeds dry, the women pound them between two stones. The seeds become a thick paste. The women press the paste to remove the oil.
Voice 1
In the past, the women produced Argan oil to use in their own homes. They used the oil in cooking, on their skin, and to treat sicknesses. Some of the oil was traded in Morocco - but it was not used anywhere else.
Voice 2
In the 1990s people in Europe began to hear about argan oil. They learned about the special qualities of the oil - that it was good for eating, and for skin treatments. Cooks wanted to use it in foods in their restaurants. Beauty companies wanted to put the oil in their products.
Voice 1
So the production of argan oil started to change. More companies in the West wanted the oil so they created new ways to produce the oil. They used machines to gather the argan fruit. They used chemicals to get the oil out of the seeds. Many companies started producing argan oil for people in the West.
Voice 2
But when all these Western companies moved to Morocco, the native Berber people were pushed out. They lost control of the argan oil business. The business was succeeding, but the local people were not receiving that money. The argan forest was also suffering.
Voice 1
So a group from Germany worked with the Moroccan government to help fix this problem. First, they talked to UNESCO. In 1998, UNESCO recognized the argan forest as a special place. They declared it to be a biosphere reserve. This is an environmental area that the world will protect.
Voice 2
The second step was to work with the Berber women. Moroccan authorities encouraged the Berber women to form cooperatives. A cooperative is a business that is owned equally by the group of people who work there. The women did form cooperatives. But they did not want to produce the argan oil with the new methods, using machines. They wanted to keep the tradition of making argan oil by hand. This was the way their ancestors made the oil. These traditional methods made better quality argan oil, but they took more time and work. As a result, it was still difficult for the cooperatives to compete against the big businesses.
Voice 1
So the Moroccan government did something to help these local argan oil producers. They applied with the European Union for argan oil, itself, to be protected. In 2009, the application was approved. The European Union declared argan oil to be a Protected Geographical Indication agricultural product or PGI. This means that argan oil is a special product to this area. In fact, it was the first PGI in the continent of Africa.
Voice 2
Being a PGI means that all argan oil in the world must be produced in a particular way. The argan oil must be produced by Berber cooperatives. It must be produced in the traditional way. This makes sure that the Berber women get a fair price for the oil they produce. It also means that when anyone buys argan oil, they know they are getting the best quality product.
Voice 1
Because of this, the Berber women's cooperatives can now continue to support themselves. Today there are over fifty argan oil cooperatives run by women in Southwestern Morocco. These cooperatives give women a way to help support their families. They can pay for food and education for their family. They no longer depend only on the work of men.
Voice 2
But the cooperatives also care for the existing forest, and plant more argan trees. They make sure that the argan forest will exist for many more generations. The cooperatives also create education programs for the women and members of the community. Argan oil is more than just something to eat or rub on your skin. It is a product that helps an entire community. It is oil making a difference.
Voice 1
The writer and producer of this program was Joshua Leo. The voices you heard were from the United States. Computer users can hear our programs, read our scripts, and see our word list on our website at https://www.radioenglish.net This .program is called "Oil Making a Difference".
Voice 2
If you have a comment or question about this program, you can e-mail us. Our e-mail address is [email protected]. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye!