Argan trees are spiky, twisted and tough. They can live for 200 years and survive in dry, rocky land where most trees can't. From a distance, their branches look strange and a bit prickly - the perfect climbing frame for a goat.
Yes - real goats really do climb argan trees. Six or seven of them at a time, balancing on branches several metres above the ground, eating the fruit. The goats can climb the trees because their hooves grip well and their bodies are light. Photos of them look unreal, but they are absolutely true.
Argan oil is made by hand. The fruit is dried in the sun. The hard nuts are cracked open between two stones. The kernels inside are ground into a paste, then pressed to release a golden oil. It can take more than a day of work to make a single bottle.
Most argan oil is made by women working together in cooperatives. The work is shared, the profits are shared, and the cooperatives have helped many Amazigh women in the region earn their own money and send their children to school. The oil is now exported all over the world - for cooking, but also as a hair and skin treatment.

