These are Moroccan men and women who earn their living by weaving. Three of them were photographed in the Fes souk and one in a cave near the town of Ouarzazate in the High Atlas Mountains.
It is difficult to get a good shot of women as they knot their rugs because they sit close to the loom and often the loom is only inches from a wall.
Women weavers behind the "veil" of the loom
I decided to shoot just the hands and feet of the young women working in a Fes carpet ‘factory’. Most Moroccan women do not want their photo taken and refuse to pull the strands of wool aside to show their face.
A weaver of rayon scarves in the Fes souk
The men who were weaving rayon scarves had no such reservations. They worked fast and barely looked at me. The dim light gleamed on their sweaty arms and the wooden parts of the loom that have been burnished by the touch of the men’s hands. When I look at these photos I am reminded of a person playing an instrument in an orchestra.
Life in the souks has not changed in ages
The last photo is of two women who live in a cave. They are nomads and their goats and sheep are their livelihood.
Hidden in their cave, two women weave
They weave carpets to sell for cash. The bride price for a good weaver is more than for a girl who cannot weave. The women were shy, but their men told them to let me take their photo so they cooperated somewhat. They have ways to get around the demands their men place on them. Just like we do!