51st edition of the Festival of Roses in the village of Kalaat M'gouna

A reminder that if you want to "smell the roses" then get ready for the 51st edition of the Festival of Roses in the village of Kalaat M'gouna from 9 to May 12

Moroccan Interprofessional Federation of Rose Perfume (FIMAROSE) and the Provincial Council of Tinghir are organising the festival in collaboration with the City Council Kelaât Gouna and the National Agency for the Development of Oasis Zones and Argan (ANDZOA). The event, under the theme "A mobilization to build a local development project", is the result of close collaboration involving the local administration, economic operators, professional organizations, promoters and local actors and associations.

This participatory approach has combined the efforts of all local authorities in synergy with the population of the 25 municipalities within Kalaat Gouna, the aim being to give more visibility to the opportunities offered by the region but also the constraints that stand in the way of future development. To do this, several committees were formed (logistics, scientific, cultural, artistic, exhibitors and reception). It is hoped that the efforts on the project for development of this sector will help to promote the work of local people and the women in particular.

Certification problems

Yet there are some problems, as Elhoussaine Ouhlisse, President and Founder of Saghrou Centre for Studies and Communication, explains, "The pink Kalaat M'gouna rose products have no labeling or protected geographical indication or certification!"  His objective is to get locals involved in the development of the city and especially to allow local products to have labels and certifications. The centre will give a series of lectures at the Rose Valley on May 10 to discuss ways to promote the products of the city.

The risk if the rose has not been certified "protected geographical indication" is that anyone can come from abroad to Kalaat M'gouna, buy rose oil and return home to make products based on the product without ever having to mention the origin of the rose. This is what happened with the scandalous American-Israeli brand MoroccanOil . The company made ​​a fortune with cosmetics whose basic element is argan oil from Morocco, but it never mentions the origin of the oil, preferring to say "Made in Israel" on the packaging bottles.

Yet the pink Kalaat M'gouna rose is known worldwide as a quality product. "The rose originally from Damascus, also grows in Turkey, Hungary and Pakistan. But Morocco is one of the best because it is the most natural and is also known for its unique fragrance," says Elhoussaine Ouhlisse.

In addition to labels to protect the product from Moroccan soil, Elhoussaine also has another purpose: to make the pink Kalaat M'gouna become an organic product to increase sales internationally, especially to cosmetics professionals.  He explained that farmers of Kalaat M'gouna do not have enough awareness of the richness of these roses and don't hesitate to plant roses near wheat or vegetables to delineate their plots. Consequence: roses are flooded with fertiliser and pesticides. Elhoussaine Ouhlisse wants to encourage farmers to produce more organic roses but without increasing the area of ​​land.

Each year the harvest takes place during two weeks in May. "Today 2,000 tons of roses are harvested annually in the city. The ideal would be that amount to 6,000 tons," he hopes.

50 years and still no patronage!

The traditional rose harvest festival has been celebrated for over 50 years, making it one of the oldest festivals in Morocco. Yet the festival enjoys no royal patronage, as is the case for the majority of cultural and agricultural events in the kingdom. Patronage would allow the event to attract the interest of the public and the authorities. But organizers have never asked for this patronage. Elhoussaine Ouhlisse hopes to win this patronage by next year.

Morocco is famous throughout the world for its superb rose oil (known as rose otto from the Arabic itr, meaning perfume) and the Rose Festival in El Kelaa M'Gouna is a wonderfully perfumed event worth attending. But because the "valley of the roses" is some six hours drive from Marrakech and accommodation is limited, it is worthwhile making plans well in advance.

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Moroccan Rose Festival 2013

Morocco is famous throughout the world for its superb rose oil (known as rose otto from the Arabic itr, meaning perfume) and the Rose Festival in El Kelaa M'Gouna is a wonderfully perfumed event worth attending. But because the "valley of the roses" is some six hours drive from Marrakech and accommodation is limited, it is worthwhile making plans well in advance

rosa damascena

This year the festival takes place from May ninth to twelfth

The roses are not farmed in fields as you might see in the south of France around Grasse, but are simply hedgerow plants that bloom once a year. French essential oil producers descend on the area at harvest time and set up stills in the fields. Every year thousands of tons of petals of rosa damascena are distilled in the big copper pots. Rosewater is the main product, but it's the essential oil, in fact a byproduct of the process, that is so valuable. That's taken back to France and sold to perfume and cosmetic houses; it's extremely expensive. The retail price of just 3ml, or half a teaspoon, costs over 150 Euros. The essential oil is extremely difficult to find in Morocco, and simply isn't available in El Kelaa M'Gouna at all. But you can find rosewater and lots of pink face and body creams.

The Rose Festival attracts thousands of Moroccan but few foreign visitors

In countryside homes, it's not unusual to see whole rooms knee-deep in rosebuds and petals that are left to dry. Moroccan women use rosewater on their faces (it's great for combatting wrinkles!), and the dried buds can be mixed with ghassoul (clay) in facial and hair products. It's also used in flower water shakers at celebrations, and spice merchants add dried buds to ras el-hanoot, used in cooking.

Rosewater from El Kelaa M'Gouna is available everywhere in the Fez Medina and is very cheap (around Dh10 for a 200ml bottle). Moroccans make their own rosewater at this time of year, when you can see shops selling nothing but rosepetals, and small zinc stills are widely available.

Hundreds of rose products are available

Photographs: Sandy McCutcheon
Additional text: Helen Ranger

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Essential oils in Morocco

Last week The View from Fez reported from the Rose Festival at El Kelaa M'Gouna in southern Morocco. But what exactly happens to all those roses that are harvested each May?

hedgerows of roses

The first time Helen Ranger came to Morocco, it was to explore the Valley of the Roses near El Kelaa M'Gouna and take a look at the rose fields. Morocco is famous throughout the world for its superb rose oil that's known as rose otto (from the Arabic itr, meaning perfume).

The roses are not farmed in fields as you might see in the south of France around Grasse, but are simply hedgerow plants that bloom once a year. French essential oil producers descend on the area at harvest time and set up stills in the fields. Thousands of tons of petals of rosa damascena are distilled in the big copper pots. Rosewater is the main product, but it's the essential oil, in fact a byproduct of the process, that is so valuable. That's taken back to France and sold to perfume and cosmetic houses; it's extremely expensive. The retail price of just 3ml, or half a teaspoon, costs over 150 Euros. The essential oil is extremely difficult to find in Morocco, and simply isn't available in El Kelaa M'Gouna at all. But you can find rosewater and lots of pink face and body creams.

copper still at the Rose Festival, El Kelaa M'Gouna

In countryside homes, it's not unusual to see whole rooms knee-deep in rosebuds and petals that are left to dry. Moroccan women use rosewater on their faces (it's great for combatting wrinkles!), and the dried buds can be mixed with ghassoul (clay) in facial and hair products. It's also used in flower water shakers at celebrations, and spice merchants add dried buds to ras el-hanoot, used in cooking. Rosewater from El Kelaa M'Gouna is available everywhere in the Fez medina and is very cheap (around Dh10 for a 200ml bottle). Moroccans make their own rosewater at this time of year, when you can see shops selling nothing but rosepetals, and small zinc stills are widely available.

But it's not just rose oil that Morocco is famous for. The country produces some of the best cedarwood essential oil in the world (cedrus atlanticus). While cedarwood trees can grow to a magnificent size, they're often small and gnarled, piercing through in rocky ground and crevices, and grow to a great age. The oil is superb, like all tree oils, for respiratory problems.

cedar tree in the High Atlas

Orange blossoms are also distilled, and orange flower water is used in the same way as rosewater. There's no orange blossom essential oil though, as this is not a product of distillation but of steeping the blossoms in animal fat to produce an absolute, also known as neroli. But the oranges themselves produce an excellent essences made from the skins.

Where to buy essential oils in Morocco? One of the best places is Herboristerie Firdaous in Marrakech. Si Mohamed and his sister Saida source excellent essential oils including spearmint, peppermint, rosemary, eucalyptus, thyme, basil, lavender and lots of different citrus oils.


They also stock soaps, incense and wonderful vegetable oils including argan, jojoba, grapeseed, avocado, almond and more unusual carriers such as courgette pip. This tiny shop, in a kissariat or small shopping centre off Avenue Prince Moulay Rachid between Djemaa El-Fna and the Hotel Tazi, has shelves full of thousands of tiny bottles and smells fantastic.

Saida at Herboristerie Firdaous, Marrakech

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

El Kelaa M'Gouna Rose Festival

The View from Fez team rolled into El Kelaa M'Gouna on Saturday, the second day of the three-day Rose Festival in this southern Moroccan town. Helen Ranger reports:

Thousands of people from all over the area converged on the small town, where traffic was diverted, musicians played to local dignatories, beautifully decorated floats paraded the streets, and women were out in all their finery.

The crowds were massive.

An amazing number of people had dressed in rose-pink

Musicians everywhere!

All this in honour of the rose that grows in hedgerows in the surrounding area, and which is harvested in early May. The flowers are distilled right there in the fields, the essential oil is whisked off to France to make expensive perfumes, and the rosewater is available for sale in almost every shop in town. Small boys sell garlands of roses along the roadside and many people wear pink or rose-patterned clothes.

The perfect Moroccan rose.

Every rose product you can think of - plus some.

If you missed it this time, put it in your diary for next year - it's held on the first or second weekend of May every year.

Photos: Sandy McCutcheon. (Click on images to enlarge).

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Kelaat M'gouna Rose Festival

The beginning of 45th edition of the Kelaat M'gouna Rose Festival was attended by almost 20,000 people in the town 500km south of Rabat.

The three-day festival, which coincides with traditional rose-picking ritual and rose-distillation, kicked off with the coronation of Miss Rose.

The emblematic rosa damascina was the order of the day, as the sign of love and life in the heart of the beautiful Dades Gorges. "We come every year to discover a new taste of life," said a French visitor who came exclusively to attend the festival.

Although this year's harvest is less abundant than before, the local population holds big hopes of a bountiful year, especially after the increase of the price of a kilo of roses to one dollar. Still, the market rules. "We think that other companies could pay more than one dollar a kilo, but it is hard to reach them, because of monopoly," said a local.

The floral festival will also feature numerous events notably a chariots procession, folk-dancing and singing, handcraft exhibitions and banquets.


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

The sweet smell of Fez in Spring

One of the most wonderful things about spring in Fes is the glorious smell of orange blossom that hangs in the air for a few weeks. That time isn’t far away now, and in fact you can already see a few baskets of blossoms for sale in medina streets. Still tightly closed, these buds are sold by the kilo for around Dh30. Our Special Affairs Editor Helen Ranger reports:

R’cif market is the best place. In a couple of weeks’ time there will be huge baskets of orange blossoms and bunches of camomile flowers, closely followed by rose petals.


Four years ago, Lumen went searching for the rose fields in the High Atlas mountains around El Kelaa M’Gouna. Expecting to find fields of neatly ordered plants such as you might find in the hills above Grasse in France, around St Paul de Vence, she was startled to learn that the rose buds here are all from untended hedgerows.

Instead of a vast agricultural industry, the famous rose maroc essential oil comes from these wild plants that bloom but once a year. Some are dried for use all year round, and some are used to make rose otto essential oil. (The word otto in English comes from the Arabic word for perfume, itr.) It’s virtually impossible to find such otto in Morocco as it’s mostly spirited away to France to be used in perfumes and cosmetics. But locals are left with the by-product, the beautiful rosewater that they use in cooking and to make cosmetics.


Wandering about in the medina now, just before the blossoms start to appear on the streets, you might come across men making and selling some strange-looking silver contraptions with various protuberances. These are stills, and every home will have one. If the family is very poor, they’ll rent one for the season. Lumen bought the smallest one and half a kilo of orange blossoms, and spent a fragrant couple of hours making floral water.


Here’s the method if you’d like to try it for yourself. Fill the bottom of the still with hot water. Then put the pierced pot over the water and fill with plant material. Cover this with the top layer of the still and fill up with cold water. You’ll need cork bungs for the pipes, wrapped in tape or cling-film. Put a jug under the curved pipe and light the gas to heat the water. The steam in the bottom container will rise through the plant material in the next layer and condense on the conical ‘ceiling’ of the top layer, which is kept cool by the cold water.

Fragrant molecules of the plant material are found in the steam. The steam condenses back to water which then runs down the curved pipe and drips into the jug. When the water in the top pot gets hot, removed the bung, drain it out and add more cold water.

After about an hour, you can change the water in the base pot. Floral water from a second distillation won’t be as strong, but no matter. Use the first distillation as a skin tonic or in cooking. The second quality is wonderful sprinkled or sprayed around the house, on your hands before eating, or sprayed onto freshly laundered linen.

Photo credit: Helen Ranger

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news