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Building a Cabin in Ourika

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Blog
byRamzi Talbi
onJune 14, 2016

Our most recent adventure with the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) was thirty kilometers from Marrakech. The Ourika Valley is home to one of HAF’s nurseries, located on the land of Lhaj Abdlekbir by the Ourika River. The nursery is maintained by women of the Aboghlou cooperative, a group of local women who strive to improve their economic and social lives. In addition to working at the nursery, they produce locally-grown products, such as couscous, herbs, and jams. HAF is using the participatory approach to implement projects that suit the needs of this local community.

The Aboghlou women work at the nursery twice a week and start their day around 6 am. This is a great way for them to socialize, support each other, and transfer knowledge from one generation to another.

Before HAF’s connection with the cooperative, the women used olive trees’ shadows to protect them from the sun and take their breaks. Our staff thought about a better alternative – a place where the women can host visitors and take breaks. HAF’s staff and volunteers brainstormed a plan to build a shelter that would provide more reliable shade.

In order to fund the cabin’s construction, HAF’s volunteers and staff contributed money and received a donation from Evan Green, OES.

After getting the approval of the land owner, Haj Abdelkibir, we went to a local market in Marrakech to bargain and buy the wood and bamboo for the cabin. On Saturday, June 4th we met at our office at 7:45 am and packed all of the cooking dishes and ingredients that we needed for the day. The spot where we constructed the shelter was far from restaurants and houses so we needed to make our own food.

After an hour's drive from Marrakech, we reached our destination, bought more supplies from the local hardware store, and started digging holes for the pillars that were to serve as the foundation. The rest of the team went to gather sand and rocks from the river. To be as sustainable as possible, we used natural and local materials for the construction. Atika, our chef made breakfast for the crew and we had our first meal of the day alongside some of the Aboghlo cooperative members who were working at the field that morning.

Our work continued after breakfast and our goal was to finish building the cabin before the end of the day. Haj Abdelkbir and Mohamad, the land owner, and Nursery caretaker, were kind to help our mostly inexperienced crew. Their help was critical in ensuring the shelter would be finished by the end of the day.

We faced some obstacles, namely big rocks and the hard pack of the land. However, our highly motivated team surpassed these natural obstacles.

After much physical exertion, our mid-day tea break was refreshing for the entire crew. Work continued after the tea break, and as time went on, we made even more progress on the hut. After another couple of hours of hard work, the crew started to look forward to the “fruits of their long day of labor” and liked the beauty and simplicity of the design.

Finally, our slow-cooked Tajine was highly deserved at the end of the day. We had gathered in the newly built shelter and had a tasty lunch benefitting from the new-found shade! We ended our meal with celebratory black coffee and headed back to Marrakech.