My name is Karima and I’m 47 years old. After 10 years living abroad, I’m now back in Fès. That’s where I’ve started a business making natural cosmetics. I produce the cosmetics myself and put a lot of love into them. I select the raw materials very carefully, because I want to achieve results that satisfy me.

In 2006, I first left Morocco to settle in Tunisia with my husband. That’s where he was born. Years later we moved on to France, where I managed a grocery shop. But then my husband died, so I was on my own. I decided to come back to Morocco in 2016.

My reintegration into Morocco wasn’t easy, especially after the loss of my husband. And by then my father had also died. I finally attended courses in a cooperative, where I learned how to produce natural cosmetics. That’s my vocation.
 

Beginning in her own kitchen

I began by making deodorants, toothpaste, lotions, clay masks and lipsticks. I didn’t have the necessary machines at first, so I used the utensils in my kitchen. I did, however, pay particular attention to hygiene. After a while, the non-governmental organisation “Union des Associations de Fès Médina” (Union) provided me with premises for my business.  

In 2020, the president of the Union told me about the Moroccan-German Information Centre on Migration and Vocational Integration (EIMA). I registered there for vocational courses that were organised by EIMA and one of its partners. These courses were held online due to the pandemic. They made a positive change in my professional career and in the way I manage and develop my project.