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

You don't need to be rich to save

Leah Katerberg, this week's guest blogger, shares some experiences of a YouthInvest training session from her recent trip to Morocco.

I’m in Morocco to conduct our annual survey, but we’ve adjourned for the day and I’ve decided to sit in on a training session for 100 Hours to Success. The youth are just beginning the module on saving. Let me show you what they’re learning:

The trainer starts by guiding them in a discussion on the general goals of saving. All contributions are posted on the wall, and together the youth categorize them into three broad uses for savings:
1. Events (eg. wedding)
2. Unknown future expenses (eg. appliance repair)
3. Business opportunity (income generation)

The youth are now formed into groups of about five, each representing a family, and are provided relevant information on the family’s assets, expenses, income, and also a set of challenges to solve.

For example, the family’s father may have been diagnosed with a hearing problem, so the family must save for the purchase of a hearing aid; the oldest daughter is graduating from high school next year and would like to pursue college-level education; the mother owns a sewing business and has had to turn down certain types of work because of the limitations of her machine.

Together, each ‘family’ decides how much they can save per month based on their current situation. The youth understand this often requires sacrifice in expenditures, however some groups’ creativity went beyond fewer visits to the internet café: “We will sell one of our cows, we can negotiate lower rent with our landlord, we will start a small garden plot and sell vegetables to our neighbors.” Continuing the example above, let’s say our group determines it will be able to save 300 dirhams per month (about $35).

Next, each group completes a savings plan template to enable them to reach their goals. Our group’s looks something like this:








At 300 dirhams per month, the hearing aid can be purchased in less than half a year. Then, the family can start saving for the first year of college for the oldest daughter, which will take about eight months. Once those two goals have been achieved, saving can begin for the sewing machine. Likely, the additional income generated by the new machine will help the family save for subsequent years of college.

As each group confidently shares its plan the twofold message becomes clear: Saving is powerful, and you don’t need to be rich to save.

Learning about Moroccan tea culture

This week's guest blog is from Jennifer Harley of MEDA Financial Services, who recently returned from Morocco.

Morocco is well known for its dramatic landscapes and delectable food offerings. But Moroccans are perhaps under-recognized for their deep appreciation for tea. Chinese green tea is a staple of Moroccan culture.

The preparation, sharing and drinking of tea in all regions of the country has, over the past 200 years, become a tradition turned art form. Morocco is cited as being the first country ever to import to Chinese green tea and is now one of the biggest importers in the world.

The most exciting part of the tea ceremony is the pour – in fact, the repeated pouring. In order to aerate the tea, the tea maker will pour a full glass holding the pot several inches in the air and then pour the glass back into the pot. (Watch my video here: http://zook.ca/morocco/ )

This method produces a sort of bubbly foam on the top of the tea and ensures that the sugar is thoroughly mixed. Finally, everyone drinks. The show is so captivating that one hardly notices the wait.

Change among youth motivates Mustapha to do more

This week's guest blogger, project manager Jennifer Denomy, reports from Morocco where she continues to introduce us to some of MEDA Morocco's staff members.

After YouthInvest started field activities last year, local project manager Mustapha Ouchrahou had many questions: How would the partners work? How would they deliver the training? What would the impact be and how would youth react?

The first training sessions happened with secondary school students in Boudnib, a small town near Errachidia in the south east of Morocco. "I met with some of the youth and heard their stories," says Mustapha.

"They said that the training had given them an entirely new attitude, new skills and a greater sense of self-confidence. There was a real change in their way of thinking. They discussed calmly how things were going at school and how they had begun to negotiate their needs with the administration.

"I could really see that there was a difference. It was very touching. Now we are so motivated to do more because of the change we see.”

Giving youth "something that changes their lives"

This week's guest blogger, project manager Jennifer Denomy, reports from Morocco where she continues to introduce us to some of MEDA Morocco's staff members.

Monitoring and evaluation manager Khadija Saoudi often travels to the field, meeting with partners and beneficiaries. In rural areas where MEDA Maroc works, youth have no other programs or training they can access. These are neglected areas in terms of social services.

"Our program is interactive and allows youth to meet in groups to learn things – a new concept for many of them," reports Khadija. "When they begin the training, they love participating and learning with peers and do not want the classes to end. They ask if there is more training they can do and say “don’t forget us!”

"One of my favorite things is to talk to youth after they start the 100 Hours to Success training. They greet the trainer in the street and talk about how much they have learned in the classes. They are excited to report that they taught their family members to do the things they learned.

“I feel like we give them something that changes their lives. It’s a huge change, especially for the girls.” Khadija says that before receiving the training, youth describe living their lives “as it goes,” but now they have objectives and know how to motivate themselves to achieve what they want to do. They don’t stay at home until they get married, but have direction and purpose.

Unfortunately, many girls encounter opposition to plans they develop, because starting a business might require them to do things that go against local traditions. It's difficult for them to travel for work or to buy supplies for their business. But they know how to save and to create small enterprises. Some girls have overcome barriers and we will continue to encourage them.