Guardians of the Argan Forest
From soil to legacy: a new best-practices guide charts a regenerative path for Morocco’s argan oil cooperatives
By Andrea Worthoff
01 October 2025
PHOTOS COURTESY OF Inanc Tekguc
We are pleased to announce the release of Guardians of the Argan Forest, a practical, field-tested guide co-designed with and for argan oil cooperatives in Morocco. Beginning this week, the guide will be shared with the three participating cooperatives—Tighanimine, Argan Timgharine, and Bio.IDG—before wider dissemination across our cooperative network.
This work was undertaken by GDF’s intern, Andrea Worthoff, during her placement from winter 2024 to spring 2025. We acknowledge her sustained engagement with cooperative leaders and members and her careful translation of field insights into an actionable resource. We also thank the cooperative teams whose time, expertise, and constructive feedback shaped the guide’s focus and usability.
The guide synthesises observations from cooperative practice, interviews, and document review to support day-to-day strengthening of organisational systems. It addresses member engagement and governance; financial transparency and basic internal controls; product quality and certifications; traceability and documentation; workforce training and safety; and marketing and communications. Each chapter provides concise best practices, key takeaways, and checklists designed for immediate adoption by small and medium-sized cooperatives.
What’s inside:
- Performance metrics and best practices. Cooperative-ready tools for tracking participation, governance decisions, financial procedures, product quality parameters, certification milestones, traceability records, training hours, and marketing activities.
- Regenerative stewardship. Step-by-step guidance linking sustainable harvesting, soil care, and ecological monitoring to product quality and long-term resource security.
- Direct-trade and visibility. Practical options to reduce reliance on intermediaries, strengthen buyer relationships, and communicate a credible traceability narrative to markets.
- Cooperative Legacy Blueprint (prototype). A participatory framework for succession planning, role transfer, and the preservation of tacit knowledge central to cooperative continuity.
- Peer-to-peer learning exchange. A simple, replicable format for cooperatives to share methods, troubleshoot challenges, and document improvements collectively.
- Legacy implementation model. Templates and prompts to identify, codify, and transmit cultural, technical, and ecological knowledge across generations, aligning daily operations with longer-term stewardship goals.
Implementation and next steps
Distribution will proceed in two stages. First, we will circulate the guide to Tighanimine, Argan Timgharine, and Bio.IDG and invite structured feedback on clarity, feasibility, and immediate priorities. Second, we will integrate this feedback and then share the guide across our broader network of cooperatives, encouraging peer review and adaptation to local contexts.
If you would like a copy of the report, kindly download it here.
