A vision of the future

What we do here in Tameslouht isn't just about designing beautiful rugs, it's about fostering fulfulling lives for the people that make them and have been making them for centuries. Our craftspeople are not invisible hands behind a loom; they are mothers and sons and daughters and fathers. They joke over afternoon tea and whistle while they weave. In every rug, there's a reflection of their life's work in a day.

With the joyous privilege of operating Beni comes the supreme responsibility to not only support the people that make it possible but to try to better the future of the craft itself in order to ensure its continued legacy while improving its outdated fault-lines. Fault-lines like how the weavers of Moroccan rugs often exist at the bottom of a long supply chain, are far too often underpaid and undervalued, and aren't generally set up for success when it comes to safety, training or real-life resources.

A STEP Certified Partner since 2022, we're immensely proud to share a conversation between our co-founder Robert Wright and Kate Kolberg of STEP, a non-profit organization that's committed to fair trade and the wellbeing of workers in the handmade carpet and textile industry.

As one of our weavers put it: "treating women with respect, paying decent salaries, and providing good working conditions will change the image of this industry, attract young people and help the tradition survive." This "survival" of the traditional way of doing things is what propels our process forward, and pushes us to bend the rules of what has always been in order to make room for the way things could be.

Wholeheartedly, we believe that the practice of weaving isn't a cog in a machine, but a career for one to cherish. We offer salaried roles with clear paths to encourage growth and longevity in which our team can earn more as their skills strengthen.

Weavers are also resourced with a host of services and benefits that remove potential wrenches from their daily routines. Commutes from their local villages, lack of transportation, and insufficient childcare — just to name a few — are all nipped in the bud through team shuttles and a workspace that welcomes children and their homework in the courtyard. Every gesture, big and small, is made with the hope that people stick with us, growing their story with Beni as we do the same.