Beauty & the Berbers: Kahina - Giving Beauty

Since the age of 12, Katharine L’Heureux had always dreamt of creating a beauty company. Almost 30 years later, her search ended with the creation of Kahina – Giving Beauty, a new organic skin care line intended for women like her who are looking for a simple organic skin care program that works and that women can feel good about buying. Based on 100% organic argan oil sourced from women’s cooperatives of Morocco, all Kahina – Giving Beauty products contain high concentrations of 100% organic argan oil combined with other beneficial organic and natural ingredients for a luxurious and highly effective regimen. They are formulated according to EU organic standards that guarantee the highest measure of responsibility toward consumers and the environment. All products are 99% natural and use organic botanicals whenever possible. Kahina – Giving Beauty never uses parabens, synthetics, sulfates, petroleum, GMOs, animal byproducts, artificial colors or fragrances.

Not just beauty products, they are an economic lifeline to many disadvantaged Berber women of Morocco.

In Morocco, home of the argan tree, law dictates that only the Berber women who live in the argan region are the ones allowed to extract the oil from the nuts of the tree. For most of these women, this work is their only road to financial and social independence. Cooperatives have been established with the support of the Moroccan government to help these women, providing fair compensation and resources for them, including women’s rights and literacy programs; most of the women who harvest the argan oil are illiterate, as Katharine discovered on one of her visits to the cooperatives. These women speak only Berber, so interviewing them proved complicated - the help of both an Arabic and a Berber translator was required, with Katharine asking the questions in English, which were then translated into Arabic, and then into Berber; the answers would be translated back from Berber into Arabic and finally into English.

Through the literacy programs these cooperatives provide, many of the women are learning to read and write for the first time. Katharine found their efforts to write their names both beautiful and inspiring, and decided to incorporate their signatures and marks into Kahina – Giving Beauty’s packaging design. Each woman’s signature appears beneath her photo. Most of them are just learning to sign their own names, and their signatures and marks bear a great deal of meaning for them.

Katharine chose to pay additional homage to the Berber women by naming her skin care line after the Jewish Berber queen and prophetess Kahina, who reigned circa 700 AD and successfully resisted the first Arab invaders. Kahina is a heroine to the Berber women and represents empowerment and vision for women worldwide.

The following are their stories, as recorded by Katharine, each of them inspirational:

AARBIA AMZIL Amzil

Aarbia’s personality is as colorful as the clothes she is wearing–multiple layers of yellow and red. She claims to be 70, but doesn’t know her age exactly. With no children of her own, Aarbia has adopted her 30 year old niece so that she has someone to care for her in her old age, but Aarbia says that her niece will soon find a husband and move out, leaving her alone. Aarbia will miss her, but finds comfort in the company of the women of the cooperative. When I ask her how the cooperative has changed her life, she says, “Thanks to the co-op, I have gone from having nothing to having everything.”

FATIMA ACHKICH Fatima Achkich is a pretty woman who often appears to be containing a smile or laugh. Fatima, who has two children she is raising on her own, has worked at the cooperative for 9 years. When I ask about her life, she tells me that she is happy, and that she especially enjoys the companionship of the other women she works with. In the positive manner she shares with all the women of the cooperative, she says “Thanks to my work at the cooperative, I am able to afford all I need to live.”

IJA OBELLA Ija is one of the senior members of the cooperative, at 80 years old. She has worked at the cooperative since it was founded 11 years ago. Many years of working in a squat on the floor is apparent in her contorted pose, squatting on the floor, knees splayed to either side of her hips. While her scowling face at first intimidates me, I find her to be hysterically funny and kind as we talk. Although I can’t comprehend a word she is saying, the women around her break into loud laughter as she talks. Ija lives alone and tells me that she is proud that her work has allowed her to be self-sufficient.

TATMA AATECH Tatma never attended school and can’t write her name, but her wit and intelligence are clear when she draws her signature mark, which she created herself. The income she earns allows Tatma to put her seven children through school.

LAMBARKA IDOMGHAR Lambarka is a quiet, gentle member of the cooperative, but she radiates an inner peace that is tangible when I sit down to talk with her, despite her difficult circumstances. Her story is typical of so many in this region – her husband has been jobless for 15 years due to lack of work. After much pleading, he finally allowed Lambarka to work in the cooperative. That was 9 years ago. Without the co-op, Lambarka says there would be no other work for her and she would have no means of supporting her family.

TAARABT BENFENZI Taarabt Benfenzi has worked almost 9 years at the cooperative, an obvious source of pride for her. Like many of the women, Taarabt’s husband is without work. Her income provides for the needs of their whole family, and has paid for their home, furniture, electricity, water and schooling for their children.

ZAHRA ELKATI Zahra, whose name means flower in Arabic, is a 61 year old widow with 7 children, one of which is physically handicapped. The money Zahra earns working in the co-op supports her large family.

ZAHRA AMARIR Zahra Amarir is married with 8 children. Before working in the argan cooperative, she did farm labor with her husband. She tells me it was very hard work and that she finds working in the co-op much more enjoyable. Zahra says the women she works with are like sisters to her. She was very excited to take the literacy class offered by the co-op and tries hard to write her name but she tells me she finds it difficult to learn something new at her age, so she writes her mark instead – a simple figure with two loops.

ZAIMA IMCHURGA 60-year old Zaima has worked at the co-op for 6 years. Zaima’s husband works on others’ farms as a hired hand, but, because there is no work for him now, they are both are grateful for her income which allows them to provide for their six children. Zaima’s name means beautiful in Arabic. I ask her if she feels beautiful. Her response is an emphatic, “yes!”

FATIMA BASKA Fatima is married with 2 children. She tells me that her husband is a very good man, very supportive of her and proud of her for working in the co-op. A proud woman, Fatima labors over her signature when her turn comes to write her name.

ZAHRA AZIZ All of the women have been prepared for my visit and it is obvious that Zahra Aziz has draped herself in her finest fabric in honor of my arrival. When we discuss the difficulty of her work, she explains that “while she is cracking the nuts she thinks about the money she is making and this makes her smile.” Like many of the women, Zahra spends her time away from the cooperative weaving rugs.

ZAHRA AGHAYO Zahra Aghayo has brought her daughter to work today to see me, the American visitor. The girl attends school on most days, which is an obvious source of pride for Zahra who has never gone to school herself. Inspired by her daughter, Zahra has worked hard at the literacy program offered by the co-op and is one of the few who can use Arabic lettering to spell her name. She tells me that she has also learned to use a cell phone and to travel by bus through the cooperative’s programs. While she is churning the paste in the mortar used to extract the oil from the argan nuts, I ask her if this is strenuous work. “Thank God for giving us the strength to do this work,” is her reply. I ask her daughter if she would like to work in the cooperative. She shyly responds that “no, I want to finish school and get another job.”

Kahina – Giving Beauty’s product line includes:

KAHINA ARGAN OIL: 100% pure argan oil – the ultimate beauty secret and the very heart of Kahina – Giving Beauty. Light and non-greasy, pure argan oil absorbs easily to give skin a radiant glow. This multipurpose wonder may be used to replenish moisture loss on face, hair and body. Kahina Argan Oil treats acne and other skin conditions naturally. SRP $72.00 for 100ml / 3.3fl.oz; SRP $32.00 for 30 ml / 1fl.oz

KAHINA FACIAL CLEANSER: Organic argan oil, organic willow bark extract, organic honey and organic papaya extract combine in this gentle cleanser to cleanse away impurities and eliminate bacteria without stripping skin of its natural oils. SRP $42.00 for 200 ml / 6.7fl.oz; SRP $15.00 for 30 ml / 1fl.oz

KAHINA SERUM: Extremely rich in fatty acids and beta-carotene, this curative serum utilizes the recuperative properties of organic argan oil, boosted by organic sea buckthorn seed oil and organic coffee oil to heal and rejuvenate skin. Kahina Serum may be used after cleansing, either alone or beneath Kahina Facial Lotion, depending on the skin’s level of dryness. SRP $69.00 for 30ml / 1fl.oz

KAHINA FACIAL LOTION: This light, unscented moisturizer combines high concentrations of 100% organic argan oil with other naturally beneficial ingredients, including sodium hyaluronate and organic shea butter, for a truly effective facial moisturizer for all skin types. SRP $52.00 for 50ml / 1.6fl.oz; SRP $24.00 for 30 ml / 1fl.oz

Her latest product is Kahina – Giving Beauty EYE SERUM,a patented complex which targets aging skin under the eye with a trifecta of powerful natural components: Rhodiola Rosea Root Extract a Siberian herb that has been linked with longevity and shown to reduce fat deposits, stimulate and boost cell metabolism, Betaine which controls excessive fluid build up and thereby helps to reduce under eye puffiness and Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Extract a strain of yeast that increases cellular oxygen consumption and energizes skin.

The company will donate 25% of the profits of all Giving Beauty products to the women who source the raw materials that form the base of its goods. As her first initiative, based on the wishes of the Berber women of the argan cooperatives, Katharine intends to build a preschool in the nearby village with the money raised through Kahina.

For more, go to Kahina-GivingBeauty.com.

- Michelyn Camen