it seems now i'm back home, that every time i turn around i see something about argan, but i have to say that before going to morocco i had barely heard of it - it's a very hard nut that contains oily seeds and has to be cracked pretty much by hand (between heavy stones) - EVERYWHERE we went there are women's cooperatives (and this is true, it's not just a publicity thing) selling argan butter, argan oil, and beauty products made with argan - we got to turn the millstones a little bit when we stopped at 1 of the stores, and were very happy that it's not our 9-5 job!
argan is a little bit in trouble because goats LOVE the leaves and bark, and increased prosperity in morocco means more goats (and fewer trees in general), so they try to protect the argan trees most of the year, but still there is only about 1/2 the acreage that there was 100 years ago
in any case 1 of the must-sees in morocco is goats climbing up into the branches of argan trees and it is pretty comical
