Baking with Moroccan Women at Amal Non-Profit in Marrakech

Morocco is one of the coolest places to visit, but there are many issues to be aware of.

It’s important to ensure that you are practising sustainable tourism so you benefit the local society, avoid abusive tourism practices (especially camel riding), and embrace the local culture.

One of the best ways to get to know a culture is by engaging with locals. But that can be hard to do.

In Morocco, you’ll notice that there are almost no women around.

They can’t hang out at coffee shops or work in market stalls.

And it’s so awkward to approach a woman in a Moroccan hammam because everyone is naked.

That’s why I sought out the Amal Non-Profit Centre‘s baking classes in Marrakech. It allowed me to learn traditional Moroccan cookie recipes and to meet local women – and make some friends after a few weeks solo in Marrakech.

What I loved most was that their mission statement is “empowering women through culinary skills.”

Learning to bake Moroccan goodies and getting to empower women? I was sold!

Read all about my experience and how you can participate on your next trip to Marrakech.

What is the Amal Centre in Marrakech?

It is an association that provides free vocational training to women in the surrounding area.

The idea is to help women financially by providing them with marketable job skills that will raise their social and economic status within Moroccan society.

The classes are run by local women, who teach traditional cooking and baking.

To fund their work, they open their centres to the public. You can dine in for lunch or do a cooking/baking class, like I did.

How does Amal Non Profit Empower the Women of Marrakech?

Amal has three centres, which are all located near the medina of Marrakech.

The women of these areas are unable to find work within the city because they have no education or vocational skills. Or in some cases, because women are not seen as capable of work in Morocco.

With your help, Amal can train unemployed women in marketable skills that will allow them to generate income for their families and improve their lives.

I met women who were learning English, working towards law degrees, and were supporting their families single-handedly by working at the centre.

Marrakech is a great spot for solo female travel. This experience especially is safe for women to do alone.

What does the Amal Centre offer you?

Amal Centre offers tourists the chance to learn more about Moroccan culture, learn to cook and bake traditional dishes, and to empower local women. It’s a sustainable and economic form of tourism that really helps you give back to society.

Unlike other cooking classes, you’re learning the traditional methods of cooking and participating in them. In many cases, in other classes you are taught by expats and the Moroccan women cook in the background.

In these classes, the Amal Non-Profit Centre in Marrakech nurtures the connections between locals and visitors.

You can also opt to dine in for one of the best meals in Marrakech. They offer breakfast, lunch, and large-group dinners.

School Children Lunch Program

Amal Centre in Marrakech doesn’t just benefit the local women, it also helps children. They provide over 180 school children in Marrakech with lunch every day.

It’s an opportunity for the women to learn more recipes, gain administrative skills, and for the children to get healthy lunches.

The Importance of Sustainable Tourism

Tourism is the main source of income in Morocco, but it’s also affecting the lives of people.

You can see this in some popular destinations like Essaouira, where tourists are drawn to the city because it has an old town charm and an artistic vibe.

But here comes the negative side of tourism; increased prices on rent, a growing gap between the rich and poor, and a struggling working class.

The focus on tourism is affecting the traditional trades in Morocco. Local women are finding that they can no longer sell their products at local markets because of large retail outlets that have moved into the area.

However, tours like Amal Centre help to fund sustainable economic and educational projects that benefit the women and children of Marrakech.

That’s why I recommend you visit Amal Centre in Marrakech, as it is a good example of sustainable tourism in Morocco.

It helps to create jobs for local women and gives them encouragement through vocational training.

The best part? You get to do all this while learning to make traditional Moroccan dishes and desserts.

Amal Centre Baking Class: Quick Facts

The baking classes at Amal cost 350 dirham per person.

The price includes 2 hours of baking, a mint tea ceremony, working with local women of Marrakech, and a 250g box of pastries to take home.

Classes run from 2-4pm.

You get to choose which pastry you make: gazelle horns, ghriba, beghrir or msemmen. (I recommend googling them ahead of time to pick which one you want to make.)

Getting to Amal

The baking class takes place outside of the Medina. You’ll have to catch a cab to get there from the centre of the city.

It doesn’t cost much.

Have your riad or hostel help you get a cab.

At Amal Centre Marrakech, they will call a cab for you before you leave if you ask them to. I gave them about 20 minutes notice before I left so the cab had time to get out to us.

My Baking Adventure with Amal Non Profit Centre

I got a solo class by accident since no one else had booked to join me that day. That meant that I got to work with two lovely local women: a chef and my English translator, Fatima.

Fatima shared stories with me as the other woman (whose name I have unfortunately forgotten) taught me how to roll the almond ghriba cookies in my palm.

Apparently, I’m very bad at making ghriba!

She kept rerolling all of my attempts.

Ghriba are interesting because they are baked on what looks like an upside-down muffin tin. The ghriba are placed on top of the rounded bumps to give them an indent on their bottoms. This seems to also help the top of the cookies crack, which is the distinctive look for the ghriba.

There are no formal recipe cards, which was the only downside of my experience. I would have loved to have a concrete recipe to take home with me.

Instead, I wrote down the rough estimates of what we used to be able to try to recreate at home (which I still haven’t done).

Our cookie baking hadn’t taken very long with just one person for them to instruct, so I got to play around with extra dough.

Fatima and the chef let me cut out sablis for the kitchen and roll out the dough with what looked like a pasta press.

Again, it turns out I’m not great at this!

Apparently my expert cookie skills were exaggerated during our Christmas cookie baking evenings with my cousins.

With both cookies in the oven, Fatima took me around the grounds to learn more about the Amal Centre Marrakech.

Why I Love Amal Non-Profit Centre Marrakech

The Amal Centre works to help disadvantaged women by giving them English lessons and restaurant training. Amal provides women with special skills classes and cooking lessons to help them start careers in the food industry in Morocco. Through 6 month placements, these women are trained to be able to make a living that will allow them to help support their families.

Taking a class with or dining at Amal helps support these endeavours.

Amal has two locations: one in Gueliz and one in Targa. My baking class took place at Targa – their second center.

Fatima took me around Targa to see the major kitchens that are used to serve the restaurant. I got to peek into a classroom where the women are taught special skills, like speaking English.

We wandered past a traditional berber mud oven and the outdoor restaurant seating.

The center is a mix of traditional and modern with its berber oven outside and modern ovens inside. It’s an interesting blend of old and new Morocco; much like the women are.

These women are traditional Moroccan women who are taking on modern careers in restaurants and hotels to support their families.

The center is a small example of what’s going on throughout Marrakech: the blend of old with the new.

Moroccan Mint Tea Ceremony

Amal grows their own herbs in a backyard garden where I was able to handpick mint for my mint tea ceremony.

Fatima sat with me on a Berber carpet to teach me to make the traditional Moroccan mint tea.

She taught me how to measure out the ingredients and never to stir the sugar (a mistake I almost made).

The tea is poured into the glass and returned to the pot repeatedly to mix the sugar through the tea.

You are meant to pour the tea from high up to show your respect. If you pour it low, it can be a signal to turn down a marriage offer or snub someone.

With my tea, Fatima served some of the cookies I’d made as well as some extra gazelle horns from the restaurant.

After trying the sweet orange-flavoured pastry, I was much happier with my almond cookies.

Fatima and I chatted for a long time about her desire to become a lawyer in Morocco. I munched on cookies while she regaled me with tales of her family.

Fatima is Berber, an indigenous culture in Morocco. They have their own language and are known for their incredible carpet designs.

Before I left, Fatima wrote “thank you, Nina” in Berber for me to take with me.

Wrap Up: Why You Should Visit the Women of Marrakech at Amal Centre

I left Amal with a massive box of cookies and my Berber sign, extremely happy with my experience.

Amal offers the unique ability to interact with Marrakech women in their own domain.

I would not have been able to have made such a connection if I hadn’t gone to Amal for my baking class. Even the other cooking class I did inside the Medina lacked the personal touch that Amal Centre has.

The fact that it benefits local women just makes it that much more extraordinary.

During your time in Morocco, check out Amal Non-profit for an incredible baking adventure that also benefits the local community.

If you aren’t into baking, try their cooking class or dine at their restaurant.

No matter what, you’ll get delicious, home-cooked food and be empowering local Moroccan women. I recommend booking the tour though!

Read More About Morocco to Plan Your Trip

• 15 Best Things to Do in Marrakech
• Is Camel Riding Ethical?
• Baking with Moroccan Women at Amal Non-Profit Centre in Marrakech
• The Only Place in the World I’d Never Go Back To
• Is Marrakech Safe for Solo Female Travellers?
• Riad Le Clos Des Arts: Honest Hotel Review

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