Bitter almond oil & essence

Taliouine is known worldwide for its saffron, labeled AOP since 2010, it represents 62% of national production. What is less known: the Amazigh farming families who cultivate saffron in these mountains at 1,200–1,500 meters above sea level have also been growing wild almond trees for generations, as additional income. Ouled Berhil, a few kilometers northwest towards Taroudant, is at the heart of the region's cooperative fabric, an area where argan, saffron and almonds share the same slopes. The Anti-Atlas here is arid, dry, cold in winter, scorching in summer, the natural stress that forces the wild almond tree to concentrate its chemical defenses in the fruit, producing high concentration amygdalin and therefore a high quality natural benzaldehyde after hydrolysis. This is the reason why the bitter almond from this area is recognized by international natural perfumery operators.

Direct contracts with the cooperatives of Taliouine and Ouled Berhil, the same families who grow PDO saffron promote their production of bitter almonds via Folk Oils at a fair price, without an intermediary collector. This double income (saffron + almond) is a pillar of the economic resilience of agricultural households in the Anti-Atlas.

Wild and traditional cultivation, organic in fact, the wild almond trees of the Anti-Atlas do not receive any chemical inputs. Irrigated only by precipitation and mountain water tables. Certified EU Organic / USDA Organic.

Valuing an underexploited production, the bitter almond of Taliouine is historically sold as a by-product at low prices. Folk Oils positions it as a high value-added raw material for international perfumery and cosmetics.

Documented traceability back to the cooperative, Taliouine or Ouled Berhil origin identified by batch, with harvest date and extraction method. Supply chain due diligence and CSR commitments covered at source.