Moroccan meals a delight for the senses

This week, Jennifer Harley of MEDA's financial services area reflects on her recent experiences traveling in Morocco.

Every meal in Morocco is a delight for the senses. It is a pleasure to enjoy the spread of eclectic cultural influences: couscous from the Berbers, the Moorish mix of nuts, fruits and meats, and the unmistakable oils of the Mediterranean coast and the Arabic peninsula.

The markets in Casablanca are teeming with delectable treasures from all corners of the country and the scent of cinnamon and cumin is seemingly in the air no matter where you go. There’s also something very exotic about stalls filled with spices, both ground and whole, and about the sight of large jars of saffron worth more, per ounce, than gold.

During my visit, though, I discovered that food in Morocco is not only delicious, but also fun to eat. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day in Morocco, a time for families to be together away from the heat and strong mid-day sunshine.

Dining is always communal, and in many small cities and towns, no cutlery is offered. Most of the time, I used my hands and the fresh crusty white bread to dip into the large bowl of spiced stew in the middle of the table. The bread also acts as a vehicle for the homemade olives and cold beet salads.

Customarily, guests in a Moroccan home are offered far more food than they can possibly eat as a show of hospitality, which can be a little overwhelming at first – but luckily, most homes have dining rooms complete with well-cushioned benches, just in case you doze off satiated.

Surveys will show client impact

Leah Katerberg of MEDA was recently in Morocco for the annual survey of YouthInvest clients and partners.

The survey will help us measure the impact of our work with youth through the program. We'll share highlights of our findings at a later date.

"This picture," reports Leah, "is of the Kasbah Taourirt in Ouarzazate, constructed in the 19th century. Kasbahs were originally built as fortified towns and now represent the 'old' part of many modern Moroccan cities."

The Taourirt Kasbah was owned by the el Glaoui clan, which controlled a major caravan route to West Africa. The kasbah, located at a strategic junction of the caravan routes, was highly important during the 1930s, when the el Glaoui powers were at their peak. The palace has close to 300 rooms and more than 20 riads, or gardens.

Meeting young beneficiaries delightful

YouthInvest finance manager Fatima Zohra Boukhnifi, this week's guest blogger, reports from her office in Casablanca on her recent visit to the field.

I have been working for MEDA Maroc since May 2009 as a finance and administration manager. For a year, I have been working in the office, getting regular reports from the field, but I couldn’t imagine how it really was until I got the opportunity to do a field visit to two of our partner NGOs.

In Boudenib, as in Ouarzazate, we attended some training sessions and we met members of the boards and some of the trainers, who showed a great enthusiasm and a remarkable sense of commitment. I was so happy to see that they have absorbed the philosophy of our training material and could transmit it to the youth.

But I was extremely delighted when I met the young beneficiaries, who were excited to talk about their experiences.

Safa, Rachid, Abdellah, Abdessamad, Mahjoub and many others found that 100 Hours to Success changed their lives. Thanks to this program, they have learned many techniques and are applying them in their daily lives. They have become more self-confident, more communicative, more assertive, and have earned the respect of their relatives and friends. They also are developing entrepreneurship skills and many of them feel able to set up their own businesses.

At the end of my trip, I was amazingly impressed by our program's impact on the youth and felt really proud of belonging to MEDA Maroc and contributing, even indirectly, to the success of this program.

Pictured: Fatima Zohra Boukhnifi, standing at centre, with MEDA Maroc staff