Thursday, February 23, 2012

Hello World!

I've just come home from making/eating spaghetti and garlic bread, with my counterpart, Rabha and her teenage nephew, Mohammed.

As Moroccan food is eaten with bread/hands, utensils such as a fork rarely make appearances around here. That said, imagine how entertaining trying to twirl spaghetti onto a fork was for them (and for me to watch). Most attempts resulted in a half twirled fork-full with the remaining other half of the spaghetti dangling off the end only to be later slurped in with a final smack, leaving spaghetti sauce splattered everywhere :)

We had fun.

And after the brisk walk home (which was well needed as the garlic bread was too much of a foreign concept which resulted in my eating all of it), getting my fire going as it is (still) bloody freezing, I snuggled up to unwind via Coronation Street (go ahead, laugh)...but not before first getting my daily dose of FaceBook...which brings me to the purpose of this evening's blog post.

In my FaceBook newsfeeed this evening, a fellow Peace Corps Morocco volunteer shared a link to this blog post. It is beautifully written, and every last word is the truth which is what makes it so fantastic as it is written by a Peace Corps volunteer's experience in Ethiopia, yet could easily have been written by any of us volunteers here in Morocco.

Spot On.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Hey a Good Lookin'...

...Whatcha got Cookin'?




HARIRA! ...the Amazigh soup of Ramadan


Okay, so I know it isn't Ramadan, but Harira is one of my favorite Moroccan dishes and on Wednesday night I had a cooking lesson with Rabha and so I thought I'd share my new recipe with you all. Hopefully, some of you will give it a try and let me know what you think! 


Traditionally, during Ramadan fast is broken at sunset with a bowl of this delicious soup (it's actually more of a stew) and a plate of dates. Everyone has their own variation and no two batches of this tasty soup are alike. I'll include the possible variations when listing the ingredients...


Ingredients:



  • ½ lb. uncooked meat (lamb, beef or chicken), chopped into 1/2” pieces----Meat is optional!
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 bunch cilantro (coriander), finely chopped to yield about 1/4 cup
  • 1 bunch parsley, finely chopped to yield about 1/4 cup
  • 1 or 2 celery stalks with leaves, finely chopped
  • 1 large onion, grated
  • 1 can of chick peas
  • 1 bouillon cube (any flavor will work, but I prefer lamb or beef)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 2 teaspoons pepper
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric or ¼ teaspoon yellow colorant
  • 6 large tomatoes (about 2 lb. or 1 kg), peeled, seeded and pureed (or scratch the tomatoes and double the tomato paste)
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste, mixed evenly into 1 or 2 cups of water
  • 3 tbsp lentils
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons uncooked broken (2 inch pieces) vermicelli or orzo (I prefer orzo)
  • 1 cup flour
Cooking Instructions:

Note: This recipe uses a pressure cooker, but a large covered pot will do the trick. 

Step 1  (If using Fresh Tomatoes)
Peel, seed and puree the tomatoes in a blender or food processor. Or, stew the tomatoes and pass them through a strainer to remove the seeds and skin.   

Step 2  (If using Meat) 

Put the meat and oil into a 6-qt. or larger pressure cooker. Over medium heat, cook the meat for a few minutes, stirring to brown all sides.
Step 3 – Make the Stock
In a food processor combine and process the cilantro, parsley and celery. 
Add the cilantro, parsley, celery, onion, chick peas, tomatoes and spices to the pressure cooker/meat. 
Dissolve the bouillon cube into one cup of water. Add to pressure cooker.
Stir in 2 additional cups of water.
Cover tightly, and heat over high heat until pressure is achieved. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and release the pressure.
Step 4 – Make the Soup
Add the lentils, tomato paste mixture, and 2 quarts (or about 2 liters) of water to the stock.
Cover the pot and heat the soup over high heat until pressure is achieved. Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking.
Adding vermicelli/orzo: Cook the soup on pressure for 45 minutes. Release the pressure, and add the vermicelli. Simmer the soup, uncovered, for five to ten minutes or until the vermicelli is plump and cooked.
Step 5 – Thicken the Soup
While the soup is cooking, mix together the 1 cup of flour with 2 cups of water. Set the mixture aside.
Stir or whisk the mixture occasionally. The flour will eventually blend with the water. If the mixture is not smooth when you’re ready to use it, pass it through a sieve to remove balls.
Once the vermicelli has cooked, taste the soup for seasoning. Add salt or pepper if desired.
Bring the soup to a full simmer. Slowly — and in a thin stream — pour in the flour mixture. Stir constantly and keep the soup simmering so the flour doesn’t stick to the bottom.
You will notice the soup beginning to thicken when you’ve used approximately half the flour mixture. How thick to make harira is your own preference.
Simmer the thickened soup, stirring occasionally, for five to ten minutes to cook off the taste of the flour. 
Serve with crusty bread...and a plate of dates!






Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Now that's what I call a Result...

Back in December, I nominated Rabha for the Arab Women's Entrepreneurship Program. (If you are interested you can click here to learn more about the program.) In short, it is a 13-day entrepreneurial training, which takes place in Casablanca, and is for women from underserved backgrounds. I thought it would be an amazing opportunity for Rabha and I was excited to nominate her. 


Pleasingly, I received an e-mail in early January, stating that Rabha had been selected to attend an interview in Casablanca the following Friday. The interview would make or break her attendance in the program, but before we packed our bags and headed all the way to Casablanca (9 hour bus ride) I wanted to get some more information on the actual training. The application I filled out when nominating Rabha, simply stated that the training was 13 days and took place in Casablanca, so I needed a little more information regarding logistics and funding...


I sent an e-mail inquiring about the actual dates of the training and the costs involved and much to my surprise the response was this...Hotel is not paid for, neither is transport nor food. Only the training itself is paid for. On top of that, the training was to be held on these dates: 18-19-20-25-26-27 January ; 1-2-3-8-9-10-15 February. Those aren't even consecutive dates! She would end up either having to stay a month in Casablanca (imagine the hotel bill at the end of that!) or making  the initial trip for the interview, plus five additional roundtrips for the actual training, along with hotel costs and meals for all those trips. 


Irritated and bewildered at the thought of how 'women from underserved backgrounds' could actually afford this training (not to mention the copious amount of time away from home), I ended up sending this e-mail: 



To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing to you on behalf of Rabha Akkaoui who recently was preselected for the Arab Women's Entrepreneurship Program. 

Unfortunately, due to the financial costs involved with the program she will not be able to go the prescreening interview on January 13th, 2012. 

I would like to point out that on the AMIDEAST website it states that the program is 'designed to provide women entrepreneurs from underserved backgrounds with training and support that will help them start a new business or expand an existing one'.

The point that I would like to make is that if this program is truley designed to provide women from underserved backgrounds an opportunity, it is not designed fairly. 

How can you expect a woman from an underserved background to be able to afford to pay for transportation to Casablanca (twice as the interview would mean two trips to Casablanca),  close to a months stay in a hotel, and meals for a month? 

I would like to suggest in the future that the program offer the above mentioned costs to be either partially covered if not fully. 

Rabha would have been an asset to the training and it is a pity to know that her attendance is hindered by financial costs. 

Many thanks,

Annemarie Athey
United States Peace Corps
Small Business Development

Another volunteer, Michele, also nominated her counterpart for the training. Her counterpart was fortunate enough to also get selected and was able to attend as she has family to stay with in Casablanca. I was hesitant to send the above e-mail, but Michele encouraged me to send it and am I ever glad she did. 

Yesterday, I received this e-mail from Michele:


keep up the activism:
the Amideast Arab Women's Entrepreuneur program is now paying for
hotel rooms & meals for the women!!!
probably 100% thanks to you!

I am SURE your bringing up the flaw made them see their
error.

I also found out that the dates have been condensed so that time away from home is minimized. 

It's a bittersweet triumph though, as Rabha didn't get to attend. There's always next year though...Inshallah (God willing)! 

Miriam x





Friday, February 10, 2012

Keeping you up to speed...

Our first attempt at messenger bags...
Mushmina
Our trip to Khenifra back in January was a good one. Heather, owner of Mushmina, purchased a fair amount of bag and pillow samples, which she took to a trade show in New York City the following weekend. I haven't heard from her in regards to how the show went, but her visit with us in Khenifra was very productive. She gave Rabha tons of feedback as to what the ladies are doing well and could possibly do better. Fingers crossed this will turn out to be the relationship the cooperative needs in order to keep selling once I finish up, which is in less than a year.

Marche Maroc Marrakech
As always Marche Maroc was a success, just not in a sustainable way. Our sales were consistent with previous Marche Maroc numbers and whilst only a temporary sales outlet, it keeps the ladies motivated to keep working hard. We had one non-Peace Corps related sale and it was one of our large carpets, so that keeps me motivated knowing that there are buyers out there!

Peace Corps Volunteers
Emma, my site mate, had to return home due to a family emergency and is now on 'Interruption of Service'. This status means that she has one year to request to come back to Morocco and finish her service.

And in the beginning of May; Moses, Max, Patrick, Sara-Robyn and Roxy will all finish their service. Good for them and sad for me as they are my friends in the region and so I will be all alone in Tounfite once they go. Max is the only volunteer who will be replaced. His site is Boumia, the next town over from me and has an active Dar Chebab (Youth Center).

In March, 160 new volunteers will arrive in Morocco and all of them will be Youth Development volunteers. Sadly, I don't think Tounfite will be getting any new volunteers for a long time, our Dar Chebab is inactive (due to corruption) and with all programs except for youth development closing down, there isn't much hope for our little town.

 On The Horizon...


Occupy the Caid's Office
It's been rather difficult to occupy the Caid's office as every time I go there, he isn't there. Not one to give up, I did the opposite and stepped my game up. Earlier this week, Rabha and I made a trip to Midelt where we went to the office of the regional Governor. His secretary took our name and numbers and we are now awaiting a phone call for a formal appointment...walk in's weren't happening. Nevertheless, we will meet with him soon, and hopefully a building for the cooperative will materialize in the next few months.

Weaving School in Boumia 
Bill, the volunteer in Midelt, has been working on developing a small weaving school for young women in Boumia. Boumia has the largest population of prostitutes in all of Morocco, so the idea is to give the at-risk women another option for work. The school will open on a trial basis in the beginning of March. My role will be to train the school's secretary on administrative tasks. There will initially be two training courses, one that begins in March and another in mid-April. Each course has 32 sessions varying from the local history of weaving, natural dying, to marketing and business skills. Rabha will teach the natural dye sessions. If everything goes well and the Ministry of Artisana is pleased the school will become a permanent fixture in Boumia.

Natural Dye Workshop in Souk L'Hdd
Rabha will be teaching a natural dye workshop over the first weekend of March, in Souk L'Hdd. Souk L'Hdd is fairly close to Ait Hamza, so I will be making a visit to Hafida and family either before or after the workshop. Haven't seen them in ages, so looking forward to that visit.

World Connect Grant Proposal-Spinning Wheels for Cooperative Chorouk
I wrote my first grant last week and it turned out to be far less painful than I had expected. The grant is a request for funds to purchase to spinning wheels for our cooperative. This will save the women heaps of time as they currently hand spin the wool, which takes ages and is very labor intensive. Another volunteer, four hours away from here, also wrote a grant which includes training on how to use the wheels. Rabha and I will travel to Baknou in May to attend the training. Then Rabha will be able to return back to Tounfite and share her new knowledge with the women of Cooperative Chorouk. Fingers crossed the grant is funded.

International Women's Day
March 8th is International Women's Day. I am going to host a tea party for the women of the Cooperative Chorouk during which we will watch the film "You Can Dream: Stories of Moroccan Women Who Do" which is a short film designed to empower women in rural areas of Morocco. A previous Peace Corps Volunteer made the film, which highlights the lives of several women who are currently transforming not only their own lives, but their entire community.

Marche Maroc Fes
The next Marche Maroc is tentatively scheduled for April 19th-24th and will be in Fes.



Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Snow...plenty of snow.

Me and some of the village children on their way to school...notice the random firewood by their feet...each child is required to bring one log for the fire each day. 
Hi there! This post was written last month, but was awaiting pictures to accompany it...


Last Friday, was meant to be the day for project 'Occupy the Caid's office'. And so, Moses, Max, Sanyog and Patrick all came to Tounfite to give me a hand in 'occupying' the Caid's office. When I went for my morning run, it became apparent that things probably were not going to go as planned that afternoon. The King had other plans for Tounfite on Friday the 13th of January...

The town was in a frenzy. Everywhere I turned, there were masses of people running while pushing wheelbarrows. You see, the King knew cold weather was on its way and so he very kindly sent 6 large trucks (think 18-wheelers/lorries) full of blankets, vegetable oil, beans, lentils and various other non-perishable goods to the people of Tounfite. 

Every news station and their camera crew were present, along with about 200 military personnel to help control the crowds of people awaiting their handout from the King. There were three different locations scattered throughout the town, so the entire town was in chaos. I'm not quite sure how the people handing out the items managed to keep track of which family had received what, but I know they didn't do an ace job of it as on my morning run the next day there was a large crowd of about 100 women chanting outside the Caid's office. They were protesting because they didn't receive their fair share of the handouts. 

Needless to say, when the boys and I went to the Caid's office that afternoon, we had a very hard time 'occupying' it, as it was locked with the Caid nowhere in sight. I gave my letter to his male secretary and informed him that I would be back next week to follow-up. (Update to come soon...)

This past Monday, I decided to pay Moses a visit up the mountain in Agoudim. I've been up a few times and it really is a gorgeous village. Although the King's blanket/dry goods handout should have been a clue that angry weather was on its way, I didn't really consider just how angry it might be...and after 18-inches of snow that evening, I was indeed stuck on the mountain. It wasn't too bad though, as Moses has a really lovely host family who wanted me to stay for the entire week. 

Sadly, on Tuesday with 18-inches of fresh snow and no sun to be seen, an old man from the village passed away. After lunch, we joined the funeral procession to the graveyard where the Koran was read and he was laid to rest. On our snowy walk back up to the village, a group of women insisted that I join them for a 'Naming Ceremony'. In case you don't remember what that is here is a recap from a previous blog entry: 


According to Islam, when a baby is born it isn’t named until the 7th day. On the 7th day, the family kills a sheep and declares the child’s name. If the family can afford to they have a celebration in their home on that day, the celebration consists of friends and family gathering at the house for tea, sweets, eating the sheep, music, drums and dancing.


I was hesitant to accept their invitation as I had already had breakfast and lunch and I knew that if I attended I would have to eat my way through another two course luncheon...but, I couldn't say no to their smiling faces. And what better way to cheer up from the sad loss of life, than to celebrate the birth of a new one. And so eat I did...


By the end of the night I was ready to pop, as the day before we had already accepted an invitation to dinner at Moses' best friend's house. That ended up being another (delicious) two course dinner, which I literally had to force myself to eat.  Eat. Eat. Eat. Nom. Nom. Nom.


I made it back home yesterday and was greeted by an alley piled high with mounds of snow, which had been cleared of the roof's. As always, the picture doesn't really do it justice. 


Tounfite is a slushy mess during the day, which means an icy mess after sunset. Which also means a muddy mess is to come once it all melts in a week or two. It's extremely cold both indoors and outdoors and I must say I can't wait to be in Marrakech next week, enjoying some warmer weather :) 


More to come soon...promise!


Love, 


Miriam x


Moses, Me & Yusef


Yusef, Mina (Moses' Host Mom) & Me
Headed to Mina's for Lunch...house with the blue door

Getting the snow off the roof, after the storm...someone had to climb up every couple hours during the storm to keep the satellite dish clear though!