Atlas Mountains Series: Berber Woman make Argan Oil I

Berber women in the Moroccan Atlas Mountains show me how to extract argan oil from the argania spinosa fruit using traditional methods. The argan nut is carefully cracked and the containing kernal grinded down to a thick paste using a stone quern. The paste is then squeezed by hand to produce the oil. For making argan cooking oil, kernels are often roasted before the grinding process. These women sit outdoors in the afternoon heat for hours preparing argan. In these rural parts of the country this traditional and most effective method is not set to be replaced anytime soon.