The High Atlas mountains are home to several Berber
villages where inhabitants do not have electricity, paved roads or
access to doctors and make their living farming and making and selling
olive oil and pottery. A friend and I went to visit the area.
With the help of a Berber guide we travelled to a village where people live far from the comforts of modern life.
It took a ten-hour drive from Casablanca to
get to the mountain range and another five hours of hiking, with mules
carrying our bags, to get to the village.
As soon as we got there late at night, Berber
hospitality kicked into action as we were served mint tea and dates
dipped in milk. Men, women and children from the village were waiting
for us. I sat on colourful carpets with my friend, which is where we
eventually slept.
I saw the village in daylight for the first time on the
next morning. It was an amazing view! As soon as I opened the large
wooden door, I was breathless.
The small village seemed like another world, something
out of another century. There were 16 houses built into the mountain
itself at a height of 1,780 metres.
Walking through the village felt like stepping into the
past. Some women were carrying water from the river, others were
cooking in traditional outdoor ovens and all around children were
playing in the dirt with no toys to speak of.
They live in a beautiful place, but a hard one to live in, nonetheless.
There is no hot or drinking water, no electricity, and no schools.
Children who want to study have to walk for five hours to get to Tilmi, the next village.
It takes almost four hours for villagers bring water on
the backs of their mules. They keep it outside in a container alongside
their food; there are no fridges.
A villager died of exposure two weeks before we arrived after he got lost on his way home.
A woman mourns her donkey after discovering it had died due to ill health.
According to the United Nations, extreme weather
fluctuations and erosion that causes flooding and landslides have led to
a drop in agricultural productivity in the area.
We might tend to focus on the villagers’ lack of basic
amenities but, at least for me, when you live with them you can feel
their happiness even if they live under difficult conditions.
In their speech, you will find no complexity, no clutter.
Sometimes I wonder; who is better off, really?
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