Every year from April to May, at the foot of the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco, a usually quiet village bursts out in hues of pink. Irrigated by the Asif M’Goun river, the blooming aromatic Damask rose fields are the main driver of the local economy in the region known as Rose Valley and supply much of the world with rose-derived products. Nearly 4,000 tons of rose petals are collected annually, usually at dawn.

At the peak of the rose harvest, the Mosseum of roses is held, a three-day festival which includes folk singing and Ahidous dancing - the dance of the bees. Women adorn themselves in traditional dresses and rose necklaces, covered in rose water, and line up to be the selected as the next ‘Miss Rose.’ “I feel like the roses make me aware I need to enjoy life now and every moment of it,” says Hafssa Chakibi, one of the only female business owners in Kelâat M’Gouna. “Just like its smell: now it’s here, but it doesn’t last for long.”

Featured in Blumenhaus magazine, Atmos, De Standaard and others.