Community Meetings

Before returning to the village, Abderrahim talked to the group about the "participatory" process and how to use the Pair-Wise method to prioritize needs. Our goal for the afternoon was to work with the villagers, try to communicate with them in whatever ways necessary and help them identify what their pressing needs were as a village and come up with possible solutions. This work was to be done in two separate groups - men and women. Both groups would meet in the Association building found near the center of the village. Abderrahim would help translate for the men and Nabila would work with the women. Our students, however, were expected to facilitate the conversations. We had a mix of guys and girls from our delegation with each group. I stayed with the men for the duration of the activity.

When we arrived at the Association house, we found there were about 7 - 8 men waiting for us and about the same number of women. We were unsure who these people were, what status they might have or why they chose to come. An open invitation was extended to anyone in the village who wanted to attend to come. This is what we got. Hassan, the association president was the only one we knew.

The beginning of the activity was difficult, as Abderrahim left us by simply sayng, "ok, get started" and left the room. We sat staring at these men who spoke little to no english and tried to figure out how to start. And so, we started by introducing ourselves by first name and where we lived...New York...California...Florida....Germany....etc. They then went around the table and gave us their names. We tried some conversation with them from there, with little success! Luckily, Abderrahim came back in and started to help a little. For our group, Troy was selected as the facilitator. We needed to find a way to pose the question to them in a way that made sense. The question we posed was "what problems or challenges do you face as a village that you'd like to address?" The first thing that came out of the conversation was the situation with water. With their potential water sources drying up in only a few weeks, they needed to find another way to meet this need. It seemed as if this was really the only thing they wanted to talk about. The goal of the session was to try to generate as many problems as possible though.

Soon after we started, some of the older men came in and out of the room, only to return with some of the younger members of the village (teens and early 20s). One in particular, spoke some English and fairly good French. He came a central player in the process now, even for being one of the youngest in the room. Before long, the group generated a list of 10 concerns that they had, still with water being chief among them. Some of the others included the poor quality of the roads, the fact that they do not have a bull to impregnate their 70 cows and the fact that the B&B that we were actually staying at did not contribute to the village and was not part of the Association. After getting the list of 10, we led them through a Pair-Wise activity, where they compared each concern against one another to determine it's importance. When all was said and done, water still was the # 1 issue, closely followed by the bull issue. Interestingly enough, they currently have to lead their 70 bulls several miles into town to be impregnated there. There is also only one type of bull there, which does not allow for any diversity in their livestock.

We then followed this up with an activity where they had to "map" their community from their head. We asked them to draw the different parts of the community and highlight different resources found there. This is when the participation and conversation really took off. Throughout the whole activity, the group grew to a max of about 16 or 17 men. Many came in to see what was going on or to give their two cents. To watch them interact, discuss and sometimes debate things in their native tongue was intriguing. We prompted them by asking questions through our interpreter. The goal was for them to create a resource map that could then be used by the high Atlas Foundation for future work with them. Once this was done, we asked them to give us their "dreams" for the village.

This whole process took about 4 hours in total. Now, interestingly enough, the women were downstairs and got done in about half the time! They were concerned about completing their work for the day and caring to the children. In fact, some of the men went downstairs several times to interrupt them or try to control the things they were talking about (such as roads...they were told this was for the men to discuss, not them). Their top three concerns were the need for schooling for the adult women, a need for a hospital or clinic and addition of plum trees (they are the easiest to care for apparently). No where in their conversation did the problem with water come up because that was a "man's issue."  The roles of men and women were very clear in some ways during our visit.  It is interesting how their priorities were different based on their roles and responsibilities.

In general, this exchange was amazing. It started slow, but caused us to overcome language and cultural differences to come to some conclusions. We talked as a group afterwards about what we might be able to do now to assist them. Perhaps helping them with the purchase of the bull is the easiest way to assist them? Either way, our work with them today will certainly assist the High Atlas Foundation with their further work with the village. It also went a long way towards developing positive relations with these native Moroccan's and our students.

Hiking Around the Village

The day started bright and early with a hike down to the village. We were met by the President of the Association, Hassan. as it was explained, each of these families that live in the village choose to belong to this association (I guess not so unlike my condo association). They work together to solve problems, maintain the village and support one another. Hassan was selected to be the President because of his experience and wisdom. He welcomed us to the village in his Berber language (a different form of Arabic) and offered to take us on a tour.

The tour last three hours! This hike through the village and sourrounding areas gave us a better perspective on the community as a whole. First, he showed us the fruit tree grove, stocked by some of the trees that had been donated by the High Atlas Foundation. They had all sorts of trees including apple, plum and cherries. he explained that a flood several months back had done a tremendous amount of damage and had now left some of the apple trees diseased. Abderrahim explained that simply donating the trees had not been enough because now the villagers needed to be trained in how to maintain and sustain this orchard. Ironically, the flood that had done so much damage (water levels raised 6 to 7 meters above normal heights) were now no where to be found. Instead, the river was about to dry up and by the beginning of July, it will likely be gone. This will pose a very different problem to the village.

We continued the hike down to the river bed and then into higher terrain so we could see the village from two different vantage points. We followed the man-made canal that was the life-line of their village. Again, the flood had done damage to the canal and portions of it still need repair. I've gotta say, I found it hard not to picture myself on the island from LOST while we made this hike. e were surrounded by mountains, forrest, a river, etc...I was waiting come upon "the hatch" or the "smoke monster" traveling through the trees! It was very serene though, especially when we climbed up high, on several steep escarpments. As I said in an earlier post, I'm eating well on this trip, but getting more exercise than I have recently! Feeling great!

After the three hour hike and talk about the village, we returned to Dar Tassa for lunch and to freshen up. The afternoon would be used for the community meeting with village residents.

Tassa Ouirgane and Dar Tassa

A small Berber village in the High Atlas Mountains, Tassa Oirgane is the home to about 360 Berbers. Our task for the next two days is to meet with community members and ascertain what challenges/problems they face and how we might be able to help them address these issues. Apparently, they speak little to no English. We are partnering with the High Atlas Foundation for this experience. We were met in Marrakech by the two facilitators from the Foundation - Abderrahim and Nabila.

The bus could only go so far before we found the roads were too small to continue. They sent someone up to the top to get smaller vehicles to drive us up. After about 3 trips with luggage and students, we all assembled at the top of the mountain at a bed and breakfast that would be our home for the next two days - Dar Tassa, which means "Little House." Owned by a Berber who has since moved to the UK, Dar Tassa plays host to many adventure seeking travelers or those that want to spend time off the beaten path. Looking at the guest book, it appears that many of their guests hail from Europe.

The most immediate think about Dar Tassa that was impressive was the view! We had just gotten to the top when the sun was starting to set. There was a small tent set up with blankets and pillows where we all sat down to enjoy the view and discuss the next two days. Abderrahim gave a brief history of the village and the work the High Atlas Foundation has done there. This is only his second time coming to the village, so he also would be trying to build relationships with the villagers. The most significant contribution the Foundation had made to the village was the donation of several different variety of fruit trees, which allow them to collect fruit for consumption and to sell at the market in town.

Abderrahim took the students on a short hike along one of the trails of the mountain to give them a sense of where they were. Jewelee and I stayed behind, debriefed the experience thus far and pretty much just enjoyed the view from under the tent.

We had a fabulous dinner on a patio on the upper level looking out over the valley and the Berber village. Consisting of the traditional lamb tangine, fresh salads made up of different vegetables, home made bread baked fresh and fruit for dessert. I'm finding that I'm eating a LOT...but also getting more exercise that I would normally too.

Most everyone was tired and knew we'd have a long day ahead of us in the village the next day, so bedtime came easy for all of us. Dar Tassa has about half a dozen smaller rooms that can accomodate 2 people and several larger rooms housing. My roommates for this stay are Troy and John Cleveland. Some of the delegates decided they wanted to sleep outside under the tent. I can't blame them, as the sky was littered with so many stars and a symphony of interesting sounds from the valley, such as donkeys, birds, roosters, running water from the river, etc...not sure I would have been able to sleep with all that activity.

Travel to Marrakech

Today started with about a 3 hour bus ride to Marrakech. We will be staying in the High Atlas Mountains outside of the city though. My first impresson of Marrakech is that it is more "modern" and has store fronts and some architecture that may be more European or contemporary in style. We stopped for a quick lunch in the city and headed towards the mountains.

We also stopped along the way and found a nice shaded area near the roadway to do an icebreaker activity. We interviewed our partner and had to introduce them to the rest of the group. Again, I'm struck by the variety of delegates on this trip and their experiences. We have a variety of college majors represented and different goals for each student. My partner was Nabila, one of the facilitators from the High Atlas Foundation. She has been with them for 4 months and this is her first time working in this village.

The journey to the top of the mountain was an adventure all by itself. Our small coach bus took over most of the road that spiraled up the mountain side. We stopped part of the way up in a small little town where we had a tea break. We needed to wait there to get permission from local authorities to continue up to the Berber Village where we'd be staying the next two nights - Tassa Ouirgane.

Quick Visit to Yassine's House

Since we don't really know the meaning of the word "rest" or "early evening," we decided to make a little stop before returning to the hotel. We were invited to visit Yassine at his home for a late night treat. We were welcomed by Yassine and his parents in their gorgeous home. This gave us a chance to talk to Yassine and Kamil a little bit more and enjoy some tea and snacks while looking out at his beautiful backyard and pool. We said our goodbyes a little after midnight and decided that this has been another FULL and wonderful day.
 

Dinner at Amal's House

This evening we were invited to have dinner at Amal's home. She is the found of the Amis des Ecoles group that we worked with for the past two days. We drove out of the city into a suburb. The houses were much more impressive than those found in the city. We were welcomed into her beautiful home and made very comfortable. She made a brief presentation about a recent project that she had just completed at one of the mountain villages where they installed water fountains for the community. This is significant, as in many villages, if water is not easily accessible, they sometimes have to travel many miles (or kilometers for my metric friends) to get the water they need for basic thing like cooking, cleaning and washing. We also had a chance to tell her a little bit about PTPI and made a small donation to her organization on behalf of PTPI.

We had some traditional Moroccan food, loving prepared by members of the PTPI student chapter from the Casablanca American School. One of the memorable parts of the night was when the students lobbied us to take a little kitty named Gypsy along with us! Apparently, this little cat has been persistent in her attempts to live with Amal and her family. Unfortunately, due to allergies and the fact that the cat is somewhat of a handful, she tried hard to help us adopt him! Needless to say, we have enough trouble getting through security without a furry little friend tagging along! I'm still somewhat expecting someone's bag to MEOW when going through security though...

The whole evening was very relaxing and fun. As is customary, the night ended with very tasty mint tea. This stuff is good! It's loaded with sugar and has a very refreshing taste. Nothing like some homecooking and hospitality when you're on the road!

Beach Time!

 

 
After working at the school, we decided to take a little pitstop at the beach. Most of the members of the group wanted to at least stick their feet in the ocean water. As we walked down to the beach we were surprised by two things - first, there TONS of people...as far as the eye could see. It would be a fair guess that there were several thousand people on the beach. Second, as we approached the beach we only saw MEN! This gave us pause, especially since many of our girls had come prepared with their bathing suits. Were we in the wrong place? Were women allowed? were our girls dressed too liberally? We pressed on and eventually did find some women. Most were conservatively dressed, but some did bare some skin. We found a place to set-up shop for a bit between guys playing soccer and a group of young men playing instruments and singing. It was a fun, festive place to be. The waves were rolling pretty well too, making it fun for the group to go into the water. The ocean breeze was the only thing that made the heat manageable. I've been putting sunscreen on pretty religiously to try to avoid getting burnt. Hopefully, the weather back home has continued to be as nice as when left.