Folk Oils — From Idmine, Anti-Atlas
Before certifications. Before ESG reports. Before sustainability became a sales argument—there was a woman, a forest, and a promise passed from generation to generation.
2,800+
Women producers in our direct supply chain
20+
Years of cooperative commitment (since 2004)
2.5 M
Ha of protected UNESCO reserve
100%
Coproducts valorized · Zero process waste
8–12 kg
CO₂ sequestered per argan tree / year
Lhajja Fatima Ait Moussa, founder of Cooperative Afoulki, Idmine — 2004
Origins · Idmine, Anti-Atlas
« We never produced to export. We always produced to last. The difference is what our hands learned to respect. »
In 2004, in the village of Idmine in the Moroccan Anti-Atlas, Lhajja Fatima Ait Moussa founded Cooperative Afoulki on a simple conviction: the value of an argan grove is measured by the quality of the relationship between those who cultivate it and those who benefit from it.
Twenty years later, that founding principle became Folk Oils' operational architecture—not a slogan, but a supply chain structure: multi-year commitments, fair prices, and technical support that strengthens the land and those who work it.
826 permanent women. 2,000 seasonal workers. 12 cooperatives. These are not CSR statistics—they are the people behind every litre of Folk Oils oil.
Our CSR architecture
Direct sourcing, circular model, carbon data per batch—not declarations, documented proof.
01
A supplier that buys spot cannot claim a sustainable chain. Folk Oils sources direct, with stable multi-season commitments—the prerequisite for producers to invest in sustainable practices and maintain quality over the long term.
02
Our press cakes become plant proteins and specialty bioactives (sterols, squalene, phenolic compounds). No fraction of our raw material is treated as waste. Sustainability and economic performance are two results of the same industrial choice.
03
CSRD, Scope 3, Green Claims, EUDR—your reporting obligations evolve fast. FolkCarbon produces per-batch carbon footprint data from cultivation to shipment, calculated under GHG Protocol and ISO 14064, ready for your reports.
Circular economy
Circular economy is not a target at Folk Oils—it has been the production model from day one.
Vegetable oil extraction generates coproducts whose management defines an operator's real environmental balance sheet. Most players treat them as waste to dispose of.
Folk Oils took the opposite path: integrating full valorization of these fractions into industrial design from the start—an optimized footprint and a more competitive cost structure.
Raw material — Direct harvest
Cooperative direct chain, no intermediaries, batch-level traceability from collection.
Extraction — Cold pressing
BRC/IFS, ISO 22000 certified process. Extracted oil retains its full actives.
Press cakes → Proteins & bioactives
Protein isolate (up to 80%), sterols (schottenol, spinasterol), squalene, tocopherols, isorhamnetin.
Return to the land
Residual organic fractions return as agricultural amendment. The cycle is closed.
Argan cultivation & carbon sequestration
The argan tree is not a commodity—it is living ecological infrastructure. Its presence in the Anti-Atlas regulates the water cycle, stabilizes soils against desertification, and sequesters carbon over lifecycles exceeding two centuries.
The Arganeraie Biosphere Reserve, UNESCO-listed since 1998, covers 2.5 million hectares. Each mature tree sequesters 8 to 12 kg of CO₂ per year—a living carbon stock whose survival depends on the economic viability of the chain.
By maintaining an economically fair chain, Folk Oils contributes to active preservation of this ecosystem. Every litre of Folk Oils argan oil is backed by woodland that sequesters carbon, stabilizes soils and maintains local biodiversity.
2.5 M ha
UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
200 years
Argan tree lifespan
8–12 kg
CO₂ sequestered / tree / year
1998
UNESCO listing
Traceability of our argan chain links each batch to a certified production zone within the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve—data available for Scope 3 reporting and Green Claims.
UNESCO Reserve · Anti-Atlas, Morocco
Regulatory compliance
CSRD, EUDR, Green Claims, Scope 3—your clients' ESG reporting obligations evolve. Folk Oils documents compliance before your teams ask.
| Regulatory framework | Folk Oils status |
|---|---|
| EU Green Claims Regulation | Traceability and footprint data available |
| Zero deforestation (EUDR) | Traceable direct chain—documented compliance |
| Scope 3 reporting (CSRD) | Per-batch carbon data via FolkCarbon |
| EU Organic / USDA NOP | Active certifications on organic grades |
| ISO 22000 · BRC · IFS | Active certifications |
| ILO core conventions | Documented respect across the supply chain |
| GHG Protocol · ISO 14064 | Methodology applied — FolkCarbon |
Explore our pillars
Selection criteria, long-term partnerships and requirements aligned to each origin.
Carbon traceability and documented sequestration equivalence on qualifying supply chains — EU CRCF pathway.
The argan tree takes 200 years to grow tall. We have 200 years ahead to protect it—an endemic species, irreplaceable ecological service.
Local value creation, working standards and dialogue with upstream partners.
Lhajja Fatima Ait Moussa's legacy institutionalized—education, health and know-how programmes in Anti-Atlas communities.
Water, energy, packaging and logistics balance—real indicators of measured industrial environmental performance.
ESG data
FolkCarbon dossier, sourcing policy and compliance support—structured response from our CSR team within 48 hours.
04
Measurable social impact at source
Income stability, access to high-value markets, preservation of traditional know-how within a certified industrial framework. Our chain generates direct, measurable economic impact on Anti-Atlas producer communities.