The Fascination of Berber Rugs

In Afolki’s Tappeti Berberi, dreams become realities...

Curiosity, passion and an infinite love of Berber culture, art and civil values were the driving factors motivating a young Mohamed El Alami, founder of Afolki, as he left his home in Marrakech on a bicycle and rode kilometre after kilometre visiting paces characterised by one of the most ancient groups of people in the world.

For young Mohamed it did not matter if filling his eyes and heart with these extraordinary images came at the cost of missing school or enjoying his youth. For him it was like living a dream and was worth any sacrifice.

Many years have passed since this young man, fiercely inspired by Berber culture and art, spent entire days among the inhabitants of desert villages and in the mountains of Atlante in Morocco in search of those ancient images passed down from generation to generation. Those mountain villages emanated, quite everywhere, the fascination of the 5,000-year-old cave drawings they hosted; on the walls of houses, the tattoos on people’s hands, not to mention their rugs.

All in all Mohamed was irresistibly drawn into this world, so much so that he set out to achieve a dream, a dream which today is a reality. Mohamed has successfully spread the knowledge and appreciation of Berber culture in Europe. The vehicle for this dream was Afolki Tappeti Berberi, an enterprise which, since its creation represents the natural evolution of Mohamed’s vocation.

A central part of this dream which has also become reality is the construction of an imaginary bridge, able to facilitate communication between Berber culture and contemporary avant garde design.

Berber rug design epitomises the minimalism of Berber culture. Minimalism has fascinated and inspired modern artist and designers down to this day. Berber rugs are in reality works of art, combining innovation and tradition to tell stories – ancient and contemporary – through their material, colour and imagery.

“In our house, the rug transforms itself, becoming an evocative object that recalls distant scenery, sunburnt African deserts where nomadic tents are enriched by precious multicoloured rugs and nomadic people carry on their everyday domestic life.”