MIT Presentation

Ahmed Essadiq
Berber Farming

The way that Berbers farm is not different from the old ways. It is hard depending on the climate and the tools that they use. Berbers don’t use a lot of sophisticated tools in-fact they are very simple the tools consist of a shovel and a pick axe. Without farming the Berbers may have no food, and no money.

All these years the Berbers have been relying on farming to eat, and trade. The Berbers grow the food and they go to the market (souk) they sell the food or trade with another seller. The Berbers grow the food in their villages. First they plant the seeds of the food they want to grow then they irrigate it or let the rain water their crops. However it’s not as simple as that. The Berbers don’t have sophisticated tools, and depending on the climate in the area they live in you can determine the difficulty they will have. For example if they live in the Sahara desert it will be very hard for them to farm because it is hard to find water and the climate is very dry. However in the Rif mountains the climate is somewhat perfect. It is not to dry and not to wet, the land is very fertile and the animals can survive there. Usually the men do all the farming work. Most of the times kids drop out of schools because their parents are getting too old, so they take the job of farming.

In conclusion the way berber farm is not different from the old ways. They do not use technology they have very basic tools. The men farm not the women, and the kids help their father. Farming is very hard in the Sahara desert because it doesn’t provide many natural resources that can be used. However in other places they can farm easily because the natural resources are easy to find that will help them farm.

Experiences During the Week WIthout Walls trip.

During the trip of Week Without Walls I had many experiences of how to live without sophisticated technology. For example during the activities I learned how to wash clothes, collect coconuts, and build an irrigation system. Washing clothes was very easy all we did is put the clothes in the river with some bleach and u let them in the sun to dry. But here in the city we have washing machines and dry machines. When we were collecting coconuts we had a kid climbing in a tree and he had to hit the branches with his stick and the coconuts fell in the ground. After my group and I had to collect them. However people that have coconut factory they have machines that they do all their carrying and bringing down trees. The hard part was building an irrigation system. First there was water and rocks so to make the water pass we had to dig into the rocks then the water passed. Another difference is towns like Rabat or Casablanca technology made their lives easier and a faster way to get what the Berbers take them days or months to achieve. In conclusion during the Week Without Walls trip I have experienced many things that where I come from takes you less than a day to achieve.

Berber culture

Culture is a very important aspect of life to the Berbers. The religion of most Berbers is Muslim. They enjoy the art very much and dancing and singing. They use donkeys, mules, and horses for transportation. The Berbers that we visited live in the High Atlas Mountains which is located outside from Marrakesh. Most Berbers live in a village where there is a mosque and the village or on the side of the mountain. Berbers depend on farming for food and trading. Also the animals play a very important part in getting food by farming. For instance cows provide Milk, butter, and cheese. The Berbers have a different style of dressing the men wear jelabas and the women where long robes.

Life in Morocco

My name is Ahmed and I lived in Morocco for about 12 years and its my 4th year at the Rabat American School.

These 12 years I enjoyed them really much, during my life in Morocco I’ve made a lot of friends, found things to do during my leisure time, I went to different schools and visited many cities in Morocco. I used to go to a tennis club during my leisure time to have fun with my friends and to play tennis. I also used to do Kick boxing, taekwondo, and karate to learn how to defend myself. I’ve been in different schools in Morocco a french school moroccan school and now I am in the American school. I visited many different cities in morocco I went to the Sahara desert, Fez, Tangier, Casablanca, Marrakech, and many more. My mom has made a lot friends which they have kids who eventually became my best friends. After school I finish my homework and go visit them, we like to swim, play soccer, and go have fun at Mega Mall. I’ve enjoyed these last 12 years in morocco because I’ve made many friends and found a lot of things to do during my leisure time.