Khadija Bouamrane sits in the same posture of hours at end, her hands flow with the elusive movement of threads as they knot into each other, ultimately transforming into carpets. Outside of her small window, lies the reason for her work: the boundless, but polluted Atlantic ocean.
Woven into Bouamrane’s carpets are disregarded fishing nets that have drifted across the shore of Skhirat’s beaches for years, snagging plastic bags and bottles, smothering the corals and the rich sealife.
“Sometimes it would take massive equipment to get the fishnets out of the ocean,” said Aicha Lafkir, member of Zero Waste association that has established a workshop in the Skhirat beach to not only clean up the waters, but also create new jobs for women like Bouamrane.
Bouamrane joined the 14 members Zero-waste association just two months ago and she has already become the lead of their finishing nets recycling initiative, using net drag, wool and dyes to weave the carpets.
Her Zero-waste textiles draw on simple designs. “Sometimes it can be the Moroccan flag, sometimes a striped pattern, or some Amazigh signs,” taking up to three days before it is sold for a price of 200 dirhams per carpet.
“Whenever I feel bored or tired, I take a look at the sea from my little window, I feel so relaxed, and then I get back to work again,” she said.
Outside Bouamrane’s window is usually the bustling scene of children armed with buckets and bags, picking up trash from across the shore, which they eventually recycle or repurpose into decorative art pieces.
“We gather children from different schools. It feels like a trip to them since we motivate them with snacks and activities, but for us, we sensitize them indirectly, and we teach them good habits for a lifetime,” Aicha Lafkir, member of Zero waste association said.
“I do all this for the Ocean,” added Lafkir.
Recent studies have shown that the Atlantic ocean is 10 times more polluted with plastic than previously estimated. About 200 million tonnes of common plastics cover at least 5% of the ocean.
Reports by the independent organization, The Pew Charitable Trusts found that in the next 20 years, the amount of plastic in the oceans will likely triple.
“In the 90s I remember growing up next to the Ocean. It was crystal clear, so proper,” Lafkir said. “Now it has become full of waste, including plastic bags, water bottles, and soda cans thrown everywhere.”
“Its image should be back again, and we must act to protect it,” she added.
One of her association’s main focuses is to inspire children to create artisitic objects they discovered on local beaches, making recycled art of their own.
“We started organizing workshops for children and young people in order to sensitize them in a creative way, by drawing and creating artistic productions,” Lafkir said.
Nabil Nahim, an artist collaborating with association, told Hespress English “I used to work in plastic art, but for now, I create artistic productions made of recycled materials like soda cans, bottles, and I transform them into art,” adding “I don’t see this as recycling, I call it recyclart,” he said.
“ I feel overwhelmed when seeing children try to create artistic productions and drawings in our workshops”, he said.
“ For my case, I just put different recycled materials in front of me, and then I think of what to produce with creativity and imagination,” he added.
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