Ever wondered where all the pottery in Morocco comes from? We went to visit the main factory in Safi to find out
An afternoon exploring the town at the heart of Morocco’s pottery industry
The potter smiled a broad grin, sitting at his wheel, as he beckoned us into his pottery workshop. It was the start of an informal and interesting visit inside the main pottery factory of Safi, a semi-industrial town situated on Morocco’s Atlantic Coast.
Background
Safi has a long-standing tradition for pottery making, claiming the throne at the heart of Morocco’s pottery industry, with its creations sold nationwide and beyond. Having seen the huge collections of pottery tagines (the principle apparatus for cooking in Morocco) lined up outside shops in all corners of the country, it is easy to appreciate that this is still big business in Morocco.
The Pottery Factory
After driving into Safi, we were able to park our motorhome conveniently close to the pottery factory, with it safely guarded for 20 DH (€2) for the day. We were then soon approached by somebody who was offering to show us around. In true Moroccan fashion (we would grow accustomed to this by the end of our tour), there was no mention of a charge at the start of this tour, but rather an expectation of a tip at the end. Rarely does anything come for free!
Regardless, we took him up on the offer of a tour. To be honest, it’s a good job we did as I doubt we would have been able to gain the same level of access to all areas of the factory without him. For a tip of a few €, his services proved worthwhile. The factory made for a fascinating visit, as we were guided around the different areas, following the process from start to finish. We were then obviously directed to exit via the gift shop (as expected), to have the hard sell of a dizzying array of beautiful and very colourful pottery, all of it vastly overpriced on a first price query. Expect to haggle hard if looking to purchase souvenirs.
Visiting the Pottery Factory with Children
Our children were made to feel very welcome in all sections of the factory. Although stairs and tight spaces meant it was inaccessible for a pushchair, somebody kindly watched it for us at the entrance to be be collected at the end. Everyone seemed very relaxed about the children being there, despite our slight nervousness that they might touch something and cause an avalanche of broken pottery! I’m pleased to report that didn’t happen and they seemed to enjoy the visit. It always feels worthwhile somehow to be able to teach them the specifics of a new process, with this definitely turning out to be one of those times.
The Pottery Process Explained
During our tour we had the timeline of making the pottery explained from start to finish. We were fortunate to be able to witness people at work in all the different rooms that combine to form this production line.
The process starts with the labour intensive process of breaking up the clay ‘rocks’ by hand. Water is then added, the mixture is left to dry for a week, before being ready for modelling. Once shaped, usually with the help of a potter’s wheel, the items are fired in a kiln oven at extreme temperatures of over 1000°C.
Once fired and now white in colour, the pottery is painted. This is the part of the process that truly creates the unique products on offer, with individual artists allowed to express themselves with their own colours and designs. Although pottery is produced in all colours, the Safi pottery workshops are particularly famous for pottery in dark blue. A second firing in the kilns ends the process, producing the finished articles ready for sale.
Wood burning kilns have traditionally been used, unchanged for centuries. The modern world is now encroaching on the process however, with all but 4 of the 26 kilns operating with gas. This apparently brings significant cost savings, as well as greater consistency of temperature. This all makes perfect sense from a business perspective, but it always seems sad to witness the disappearance of traditional processes. You wonder how long the remaining 4 kilns can hang on in a world dominated by profitability.
Dangers and Annoyances of visiting the Pottery Factory
Being a working factory, seemingly operating to a lower level of health and safety standards than we might be used to in the UK, care should be taken when touring the factory. This is particularly true if visiting with children. That said, we didn’t encounter anything particularly hazardous so there is no reason to be nervous.
In terms of annoyances, the visit was pretty hassle-free and cost us nothing upfront. However, in return for this, usual money making techniques were in evidence, so you always need to be on your toes! Two things to watch for are:
1: Tip for the Guide – Whilst not specified in advance, the guy who showed us around the factory was keen to receive a tip at the end. This was not unreasonable as we’d enjoyed the visit and he’d provided us with an informative tour. We gave him a few € and he seemed happy with that.
2: Exit via the Gift Shop – Not unexpected, we were ushered to look in one of the many pottery shops in close vicinity to the factory before leaving. We were given the hard sell about how their products are produced in the traditional way, by true artisans, with only authentic paints etc etc… You get the picture. Who knows how much, if any, of this was true, but the initial price we were quoted for a plate was eye-watering (approaching €30!). We haggled down to a price of around a third but still left feeling we’d paid too much. I guess they just try their luck knowing they have a receptive audience following on from a ‘free’ tour. Be warned, be willing to haggle hard or buy elsewhere.
Elsewhere in Safi
As you’d expect, the main thing for sale in town is pottery. Lots of it. Everywhere. Besides pottery, there is a more general medina (market area), with products generally on sale for something closer to what I imagine to be local prices, rather than the vastly inflated tourist prices we experienced elsewhere in Morocco.
There are some local restaurants close to the pottery factory, serving up standard Moroccan offerings. Being beside the sea, there is an interesting seafood influence to the cuisine. Octopus tagines are the local specialism. We opted instead for a less adventurous prawn tagine, served with local bread, that turned out to be delicious.
The town also boasts medieval fortified town walls and a crumbling Portuguese cathedral, which nod to the history of the town in a bygone era. Whilst the small number of tourist attractions perhaps make Safi unworthy of an overnight stay, the town made for an interesting stop for a few hours on our journey south towards Essaouira. Being able to see right inside all areas of the pottery factory was an experience unlike any others we had during our month in Morocco.
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