Camel Trek in Merzouga

I have heard a lot of horror stories of riding camels that, bite you, they spit, you get fleas, they are uncomfortable and so on.  Well I finally had the opportunity to experience this for my self.  I was working with a a local Moroccan who coordinates a Canadian nursing student training program that works for three weeks in local clinics and gets practical experience before graduating from their college in Quebec.  They all speak French, of which I speak less than I do of Darija, and trust me I do not speak Darija very well.  The teacher and two of the students spoke English also so that was helpful.  We would like to have them speak about family health at a session for the women Boumia Rug School.  One of the lessons was to attend the surgery center in Errachidia on Friday, then continue on to Erfoud for the weekend to ride camels into the desert for the night.  We would see a sunset and sunrise in the desert.  What an opportunity.  I worked with the program last year and knew the teacher.  They ask if I would like to join them and I accepted.  I could get to operate on someone then go ride camels,  wow what fun.  Can you see me with a scalpel. 
On the way we stopped at a natural hot spring that flowed into the river.

One of our drivers likes to drive with his eyes closed because driving here is so scarey.

The nursing students are fun people too.

I am not sure I can keep up with these Canadians. 
We pulled into town a few hours before sunset and checked the hotel out.  There was a movie being filmed out of here and there were lights and camera equipment all over the back lot.  The director of course asked me to stand in for the star but I said no I already have a job with the Peace Corps.  I gave him my card and told him to call my agent when I get back to the states.  I hope my Mom negotiates a good contract for me.

Off to the camels and out to the desert.  We had one hump camels with a saddle and blankets.  You have to hold on when they stand up because they are kneeling so you can mount then step up with their hind feet first so it throws you forward.  Lucky they have handlebars to hold on to.  After the crew was mounted up we headed out.  Hicham our trip coordinator and the nursing teacher decided to walk as opposed to ride.  Hichem wanted to take pictures and Louiza rode them in the past and swore never to ride those creatures again.  lol.  okay. 

No one fell off and the trip out was awesome, except for the raspberries I got.  I always got those when I rode horses with Wini too.  Riding the camel was not as bad as I was expecting, although it would be nice if they used deodorant, boy do they smell.  They fart the whole way out and trust me it is not to be bottled and sold.  The only life we saw were black beetles running around.  The dunes were beautiful as the sun lowered in the Western sky.  The two hour ride was about all I could take.  Holding on with my legs made my thighs sore.

There were several groups that were going out at the same time but they were headed to different camps so after an hour it was just us and the desert.  It was not hot because it is the spring but I could tell it would be really hot in the summer. 
What I see.

What the camel sees.

We spent the night at a caravan camp oasis in the desert, below a high dune.  It was dark when we got there and the way in was lit with candles.  The sand was covered with carpets and our beds were comfortable and warm.

Dinner was great and the toilets were western style, what a treat.  Small luxuries mean a lot in Morocco.

We had a fire that night and local berber music, with Hichem on the drums.  I slept well in the desert. 

The next morning we got up for tea.  I checked out the boots and skis then hiked the dune in back of the camp.  It was a trek to get to the top, but fun getting down.  As close to skiing as I am going to do here in Morocco.  My tracks were nice.

The ride back took an hour and a half.  Good cause my legs were tired from hiking up the dune and holding on to the camel. 

After our return to the hotel about 8:30 there was a buffet breakfast laid out.  Hichem and Louiza were walking back and had not showed up.  Hope they do not get lost, well time for breakfast.  They rolled in about 1/2 hour later, no worst for wear.  Hicham forgot his phone so we got an extra treat of a ride in the 4x4 out to the camp.  it took us 10 minutes in the car.  After a swim and hot shower it was back to the car and the drive home to the cold cold mountain.

 

On the way we stopped at a shop and a natural grotto with a swimming pool.  There were fish in the pool and birds nesting in the walls.  A neat place.

Everyone had a great time, even the cat.

Started raining after we left the grotto and did not stop for a week.

Rug School Opening

After 9 months of working with  a team of Moroccans and American volunteers we have finally opened our rug school in Boumia, about 40 minutes from Midelt.  We will be teaching two sessions of 25 women a comprehensive program to make traditional Berber rugs and be successful in providing a better life for their families.  The program was initially set up to help sex trade workers and women in the arduous agricultural field, providing them the knowledge, skill and experience to make, market and sell rugs.
The name of the project is:
   Below is the original concept submitted for a grant.

                         Education For Sustainable Development

Mission Statement

Our mission is to help economically disadvantaged women improve their status within society by equipping them with entrepreneurial skills, vocational training, education and raising awareness among them for a range of family and social issues.

Target Group

The target group of financially disadvantaged women presently works around the Boumia area in the agricultural and/or socially demeaning trades that are financially limited and socially demeaning.

60% of the women are married with 4-6 children, 30% are divorced with children and 10% are single women without children.

Added Value Provided by the Program

The program is being set up to provide an alternate lifestyle thus improving the standard of living of the women and their family and increase their status within the community. 

Teaching participants how to make carpets, market and sell the product on a sustainable scale will instill confidence in these women to be able to start their own income- generating activities.  Empowering them with the knowledge skill and experience necessary to be successful will create leaders for the future of the community and the country.

Certificates

At the end of the training period, participants will be rewarded with certificates for their completion of the curriculum, recognizing their ability to make carpets and understand the process from shearing to selling for profit.

With the certificates, participants will have the confidence to take the initiative, explore and start their own projects.

(Option)  NURSERY FACILITIES

We would like to provide childcare facilities on the site to insure greater participation and fewer dropouts.  The cost for this facility is estimated to be about 2,000 Dh per week.  For a 7 month vs. 10 month the cost is estimated at  28,000 Dh vs.  44,000.

Reports

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) will be providing Progress Reports and a final Completion Report to keep EPP informed during the program.

• Progress Reports:   There will be a report supplied at each segment of the program as indicated in the Draw Schedule and detailed on the Curriculum.  For the 7-month program 8 reports will be filed, one with each draw request at the Set Up, six 2-week periods and closing program.  For the 10-month program 12 reports will be filed at Set Up, ten 2-week periods and the closing program.  These reports will detail participants in the program at each stage, perceived proficiency of participants with each stage, financial expenditures at each stage and input from management on suggesting changes on the next program to improve the system and evaluate success of the program to date.
• Completion Report:     A report will be provided at the end of the program compiling all of the data on the Progress Reports, including expenses, participation, drop out rate, proficiency.  This data will be analyzed and evaluations provided to determine the degree of success of the program.  Interviews with each participant, each instructor and employee will be conducted and results included in the report.

The curriculum  is a 12 week program.  One session started March 7th with 25 women.  The next sessions starts 6 weeks later.  Hopefully the program success will enable us to continue receiving funding to begin another school at another location after the completion of the Boumia program.

THE CURRICULUM
 

Education for Sustainble Development
Curriculum - 2 groups of 25 women each
Sessions will be taught 2 days a week, 2 sessions a day, (not to exceed 4 hours) , one in the
	morning and one in the afternoon
	Session		# Of
Week	#	Topic	Session	HRS	Description
1	1	Project Introduction	1	2	Program Introduction
1	2	Wool	2	2	Introduction -History, Washing
1	3			2	Types, Quality, Shearing
1	4	Wool Prep-Washing	2	3	Washing wool in River
2	5			3	Washing wool in River
2	6	Wool Prep-Threading	4	4	Opening wool
3	7			4	Brushing wool
3	8			4	Dying wool
4	9			4	Spooling wool
4	10	Weaving	2	3	Looms, set up, maintainence
5	11			3	Measuring carpet, weaving basics
5	12	Rug Production-Set Up	2	3	Carpet layout on looms
5	13			3	Preliminary Design set up
6	14	Rug Production	2	4	Weaving
6	15			4	Techniques
7	16	Design	2	4	Berber tradition, patterns
7	17			4	Knot styles, symbols
8	18	Hanbel design	2	3	Color, basic layout
8	19			3	Working session-make rugs
8	20	Temination Production	1	2	Completion carpet, knots, cutting
8	21	Washing Carpets	2	2	Techniques, importance, product care
9	22			2	Working Session-wash carpets
9	23	Certificates, awards	1	3	Review, assesment and certificates
9	24	Marketing/Advertising	2	2	Middlemen
9	25			2	Brochures, coops,
10	26	Bookkeeping/Accounting	2	2	Basic Accounting, Importance
10	27			2	Cost Analysis, Profit Margins
10	28	Productivity-Family Health	1	2	Importance of family to production
10	29	Export/Freight	1	2	Exporting basics, freight procedures
11	30	Starting a Coop	2	2	Introduction to coops, benefits
11	31			2	Setting up a coop/association
11	32	Review, Interviews	1	2	Exit interviews,  review program

            

 The funding for the program is being provided by the Millennium Challenge.  Much thanks goes to the people we worked with here to get through the process.  There were numerous trips to Rabat to work on the details.  Everything we submitted was written in English and French so the process was confusing at times.  

After getting preliminary approval in September 2011we secured a building with the help of the Boumia city managers.  It took a lot of work but it turned out great.  The building was painted inside and out, The utilities repaired, the wall and trash was removed, furniture moved in, school equipment purchased and installed, Signs, flags and pictures of the King put up.

The Log for the outside of the building and put on all the student folders, letterhead and correspondence was created by Stacey another PCV.  She did an awesome job.  What do you think?

Everything big in Morocco starts with a glass of milk and dates.  As people entered the facility they were met by PCVs outside "Mar Haba-Welcome" and offered a small glass of milk in traditional decorative Moroccan glasses and a platter of dates.  At the opening there were over 130 people, students, teachers, city and state officials, local dignitaries, PCVs (Ann Marie, Sanyog, Joe, Kathryn and Max) from the surrounding area, people from Millenium (MCI) and "100 Hours to Success" (one of the programs being taught) and others.  It was quite the event. 

The program opened with Hayat's introduction explaining the mission statement and program particulars.  Then I spoke for the Peace Corps, in my limited Darija, thanking everyone for their help and giving a little talk about the friendship/similarities between Americans and Moroccans.  "We all want the same thing, heath, happiness and a future for our children."  Everyone seems to liked what I had to say after Hayat translated for me.  Speakers went on for the next 2 hours, with a break for tea and Berber cookies.

After everyone spoke, the first class "Wool and Rug History"was presented.  As people filtered out the response was overwhelmingly positive. 

 After cleaning and closing up, wishing everyone well and thanking them for their support and encouragement several of us went to Zaida for a celebratory dinner of Kefta, lamb chops, bread and tea.  

On the way home we dropped by the Taddert Hotel to relax and discuss the day.  "Well done everyone."
Now the work starts.  We have to teach for the next 12 weeks, write reports and hopefully start the selection process for the next school.  Maybe we could have one in a Beach town.  I would like that.

Bill in Carpet School

This month I decided it was time to learn how to make a Beni Qurain carpet.  These are world renown carpets and are available in medium and large sizes.  The colors vary with white and sometimes brown field color and brown, black and blue accents.  We make these with live wool that gives the carpet a sheen.  All the colors are natural dyes made from different roots and bushes.  The carpets can start at more than 3,000.00 in Europe and the US.  Many sell for multiples of that, 6K  to 12K, depending on size design and pile.  Weight and loops per inch are a good indicator of value.

The process starts with a loom being prepped with what seems like a mile of wool thread.  This carpet is being made on a commercial metal loom which produces a superior dimensional carpet.  Wood looms tend to produce a less square product and smaller in size. 

As the carpets are made the rollers top and bottom feed onto the bottom roller.  You cannot see the entire carpet until it is done and taken off the roller.  The carpet bottom starts with a weave that ties the knots in the end so everything does not unravel.  If you do not have tassels on the end of the carpet many do not consider it an authentic Beni Qurain carpet.  I have heard some comments from tourists that they do not like the tassel ends, but they do not know the significance and cannot appreciate the product.  Machine made carpets usually do not have the tassels. It is easy to get misled in Morocco and sold something cheap for a lot on money if you do not know what you are looking at.  Just knowing a carpet is made with live vs dead wool is a huge difference.  Being able to tell the difference can make the difference between buying a treasure and buying a knock off worth much less that you paid for it. 

The pictures show the back side of the carpet.  There are six women working on the other side of the carpet.  It is quite the social event. Lala Fatoum is the teacher for the class and watched what I was doing.  She was great and very patient.  This weave pattern has three horizontal white threads then a row of brown loops which is what I was working on in the photo.

This is a Tshka which is used to pack down the rows of thread to make the carpet tight.  It is a dangerous looking thing.  Do not put this in your carry on luggage when you fly.
The crew is great to work with and patient.  I can get done a 1/5 of what most of the other ladies do.  They seem to like working with me and i started singing a carpet rap song which they thouroughly enjoyed.  It was also discussed that I could marry all the single women (6) and move with them to the states to make carpet.  Great idea, then I have a job when I get home.  Everyone had a good laugh with that.

We sherb atay (drink tea) every day and today we had a corn bread treat that Norhuda made and brought in.  I may make some cookies or cupcakes this weekend and bring in for break.  The crew consists of Lala Fatoum, Nadia, Layla, Sarah, Fatima, Zubida and Norhuda.  It will take about a month to make the carpet we are working on.  There are three carpets being made in the room.  Different women work on each carpet, but several jump from carpet to carpet depending who needs help. 

Making carpets is a group affair and is very much a social get together for friends.  I will be working with my new friends for a couple more weeks before I move on to basket making.  We are certainly having fun, even though with my limited language skills it is not clear what is being said.  I am use to not understanding and slowly I am learning more.  The ladies are helping me practice my Darija.  I just hope I do not end up saying the wrong thing and find myself at my own wedding with six new brides.  lol