CRAFT DRAFT Children Apprenticeships

This apprenticeship project in Fes, Morocco aims to preserve and pass down traditional knowledge by providing art training to children. In a rapidly changing world, it is essential to ensure that the rich heritage of at-Tasṯīr: Moroccan Geometric Patterns, continues to thrive. Through a partnership between CRAFT DRAFT, the Medina Children's Library, local schools and local Master artisans from Fes, this project, aims at empowering young Fes Medina minds with the skills and techniques rooted in the city's artistic traditions. 

The 15-month apprenticeship in at-Tastir: Moroccan geometric patterns, came to a close on January 5th, 2025. The 7 students from the Medina Children Library in Fez - Khadija, Aya, Ilham, Firdaws, Khadija, Mohammed, and Mehdi - under the guidance of Lamiae Lazrak and the expertise of Hamza El Fasiki, participated in a unique learning experience. This comprehensive program included weekly drawing classes, visits to historical landmarks, and hands-on workshops in brass engraving, zillij tile work, wood painting, ceramic painting, and plaster carving. The culmination of the apprenticeship was marked by a memorable lecture by Sidi Khalil Amrani on the Islamic and Sufi connections within geometry at the 18th-century Sidi Ali al-Jamal Zawiya in the Fes medina, Morocco.

The first trained group of children are now training 15 new students while sharing heir knowledge of 45 geometric patterns at the Zenjfour secondary school in the Fes Medina. 

Yes, the kids now are the teachers ..... !