Argan Oil & Goats in Trees, Your Morocco Travel Guide
The first time I visited Morocco, I saw postcards that featured goats perched in Argan trees. Sure, I thought, this is a gag. Surely they must have either tied stuffed goats to branches or retouched photos. So the first time I visited Argan Country, near Essaouira and Agadir, boy, was I surprised. There were real goats in the trees! Munching away! I soon found out that was going on. The goats were exclusively found in argan trees. Argan is a relative of the olive, and the goats were eating the argan fruit. Argan is grown exclusively in the southwest region of Morocco. It is difficult to cultivate and as a result, wild trees are treasured. Argan oil is prized in Morocco and recently has been discovered by the West. It has been used for centuries for cooking and cosmetics. The oil is extracted from the kernel of the pits.
