From French university to Moroccan village:
Inspired by her mother’s bread basket, Hajji developed her business concept for recyclable bags while completing her engineering degree in France. Her prototype bag won first prize in a student design contest, which led to other designers contacting her with a view to collaborating on the project. Hajji’s concept continued to attract financial grants, and even featured at the fashion show, Paris Prêt á Porter, in 2008.
In 2006, Hajji returned to Morocco to implement the second element of her vision — training local women in rural areas to handle the bag manufacturing process. Employees receive vocational training in creating bags with traditional weaving techniques, but Ifassen also has one eye firmly trained on the future. Soon, Ifassen’s staff will learn how to use 3D printers, which will play an important role in manufacturing a new interior design object — featuring, of course, elements of Ifassen’s signature Moroccan weaving.
At present, Ifassen works with a total of 60 women spread across three communities in Chouihia, a town in far northeastern Morocco. Each workshop draws plastic waste from the local community, receiving valuable assistance from government authorities, “eco-families” and even dry cleaners — who, perhaps unsurprisingly, have a surplus of used plastic wrapping.
The SwitchMed initiative, the umbrella networking group under which The Switchers project falls, has also given financial assistance to Ifassen, helping Hajji and her staff purchase high-quality flour bags to convert into durable shopping carriers.
Hajji had answered a call for proposals to offer alternatives to plastic bags in Morocco. “We carried on a six-month project working on finding alternatives to plastic bags, and thanks to SwitchMed, we managed to carry out that project either through research, marketing or awareness campaigns,” Hajji notes.
Hajji also added that her mission is ideally about giving plastic bags a second life. “With this project we went a step forward to try to understand how to offer alternatives made from used or recycled flour bags,” Hajji adds. She also highlighted that throughout the project, they managed to hire more women for an increased social impact.
Additionally, Ifassen gave out thousands of reusable bags as part of social awareness campaigns. “We don’t only recycle plastic bags but also plastic bottles and our first prototype is a lamp 3D-printed from recycled plastics,” Hajji says.
With the feedback received from SwitchMed, Ifassen managed to tweak the prototype and its design to fit the market.
Hajji’s main plan is to scale up through a collaboration with famous architect Aziza Shami and through using local knowledge and local materials, while using different techniques.
Importantly, Ifassen’s business model works around the varying schedules and demands of its employees. The women contribute to Ifassen outside their existing commitments, which range from caring for children to working on farms. “[Ifassen’s business model] is not disturbing the cultural structure of the family,” Hajji says.