here are pictures from my first visit to my site, which i cant name because pc wont let me. but it is a couple hours north of kelaa m'gouna, and east of ouarzazate. i was initially hesitant about being in the arid south and on the back side of the high atlas mtns, but my site is amazing. you must climb in a packed van(transit) for three hours into the dry mountains before emerging unto a wide rolling valley. my site is built into the side of a hill, surrounding a lush green river valley. behind the village(dwwar) is a limestone gorge that provides for amazing scenery and birding, but also is troublesome in that during heavy rains the outflow from the narrow canyon causes havoc on the villagers crops. the village is strictly berber(amazigh) but is on a major trekking route for foreigners(arumi). i have two other pc volunteers in the valley about a hours walk away.
the system of agriculture is ingenious, every possible arable stretch of land is used and irrigated through ages old aqueducts and ditchs. plots are small and make for a patchwork of different family-owned gardens, much different than the monocultured fields im accustomed to in the states. the gardens are separated by berms lined with trees or rose bushes, giving it a storytale feeling as you duck under low branches and jump side to side over creeks.
here is the view of the gorge that crosssects the valley. the walls are 150 ft in sections.
as you emerge on the far side of the gorge you begin to enter the side of the atlas that receives more rain and the vegetation is much more abundant. the area is apparently void of large mammals but is teaming with birdlife. i was amazed to see yellow wagtails, the bird i studied in alaska, and is known to migrate from north america to africa. maybe the individuals i observed so long ago are the same im seeing here, weird huh!!
here are pictures from my first visit to my site, which i cant name because pc wont let me. but it is a couple hours north of kelaa m'gouna, and east of ouarzazate. i was initially hesitant about being in the arid south and on the back side of the high atlas mtns, but my site is amazing. you must climb in a packed van(transit) for three hours into the dry mountains before emerging unto a wide rolling valley. my site is built into the side of a hill, surrounding a lush green river valley. behind the village(dwwar) is a limestone gorge that provides for amazing scenery and birding, but also is troublesome in that during heavy rains the outflow from the narrow canyon causes havoc on the villagers crops. the village is strictly berber(amazigh) but is on a major trekking route for foreigners(arumi). i have two other pc volunteers in the valley about a hours walk away. 
the system of agriculture is ingenious, every possible arable stretch of land is used and irrigated through ages old aqueducts and ditchs. plots are small and make for a patchwork of different family-owned gardens, much different than the monocultured fields im accustomed to in the states. the gardens are separated by berms lined with trees or rose bushes, giving it a storytale feeling as you duck under low branches and jump side to side over creeks. 
here is the view of the gorge that crosssects the valley. the walls are 150 ft in sections. 
as you emerge on the far side of the gorge you begin to enter the side of the atlas that receives more rain and the vegetation is much more abundant. the area is apparently void of large mammals but is teaming with birdlife. i was amazed to see yellow wagtails, the bird i studied in alaska, and is known to migrate from north america to africa. maybe the individuals i observed so long ago are the same im seeing here, weird huh!! 
2 comments:
wow. zwin site!
Hi, remember Lisa and Vanessa from SC? Ok, so I'm their friend Kiri and am mostly likely going to be visiting Morocco this summer. I'm kind of poking around, looking for stuff to do in the time off I get from the human aid trip I would go with. are you able to have visitors where you are?
thanks!
kLives4J@gmail.com
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