Bringing water, sanitation and education to Moroccan villages

Introduction

In El Gharbouine, Laabadana, and Sidi Boutmine “douars” (villages), located in three different rural regions of Morocco, the inhabitants live mostly from agriculture and livestock. More than 50% of the population lives under the threshold of poverty, unemployment varies between 60 and 70%, and the rate of illiteracy is over 80%.

In the visited areas we’ve identified as major problems the distance between the access points to drinking water and the dwellings as well as the total absence of sanitary infrastructures in places of populations regrouping (Schools, markets, mosques). This deficiency represents an immense barrier to the local economic development and has important effects on the literacy of women and the migration of the rural population towards cities and slums.

El Jadida region
The tradition of pasture and agricultural cultivation should be respected and given their full value in order to prevent rural emigration and to ensure local autonomy.

Problems to address

• Access to clean and safe potable water
• High illiteracy especially among women and therefore a limited ability to participate in the development of the villages and of the local economy
• Emigration of mostly young men to large cities and other countries to find work

The consequence of these problems is that women in rural areas in Morocco are often unable to participate in meaningful decision-making about the development of their villages. While they represent often the largest proportion of able-bodied adults (with young men away to find work elsewhere), they face the obstacle of illiteracy due to the lack of vital infrastructure.

Women and girls are usually responsible to carry the daily burden of transporting fresh water over large distances to their homes. This task is time and energy consuming. The result is often that girls fail to go to school and it impedes women to engage in other lucrative or cultural activities.

This lack of a more convenient water infrastructure reduces the women’s’ capacity to improve the quality of life in their communities. It means also that a lack of hygiene is more likely, and that in consequence, residents suffer a greater vulnerability to diseases. What is more, the lack of water and appropriate sanitation installations in schools discourages girls to follow classes and learn to read and write. Where water is in short supply, human development must begin with water and sanitation.

Recent studies in African countries have shown that villages in which women could begin and run income-earning micro-projects, the villages where much more likely to become successful in their local economic development.

Objectives

Access to potable water

Bring water closer to homes and local meeting places; linking existing infrastructures (wells/water towers) to a distribution network:

• Building water distribution and storage facilities :
  • Pipelines
  • Stand pipes
  • Water tanks
  • Toilets in central locations, such as at the mosques and in the schools.

These projects are technically designed by ECO-Villages in partnership with local experts, but will be installed and maintained by local members of the community.

Support and education

In order to enhance the ability of women to contribute to the development of their communities, we also plan to support local capacity-building where it is requested.

• A course of literacy for adult women
• An information module on hygiene for children
• A module to inform about and promote hygiene and HIV/Aids prevention for women
• An information session on human rights for women
• A course on the development of agricultural income-earning projects (micro enterprises) and on craftsmanship for both women and men.