Social project

A project under the flag of German-Moroccan friendship in the mountains south of Berkane, Morocco.

The Beni-Snassen Mountains, whose highest peak is Ras Fourhal (1,532 m), rise south of Berkane to the Algerian border in the coastal hinterland. The limestone massif, on whose slopes numerous almond and fruit trees grow, is home to many villages whose inhabitants live from agriculture and animal husbandry.

The population mainly belongs to Yat Iznasen, a large tribe consisting of Berber clans. The family of our long-time employee Abdi El-Akrouche comes from this region. He went to school there as a child and has been socially engaged for quite some time. During a visit to Morocco, we decided, as WISTEMA GmbH, to become more involved in the region.

"To visit Morocco is still like turning the pages of some illuminated Persian manuscript all embroidered with bright shapes and subtle lines" - Edith Wharton

In 2010, in the Douar oulad Yahya valley, the idea was born to use private donations and government funding to build a school that would train young people in modern and organic agriculture and serve as a boarding school. Boys and girls are trained alternately in 6-week blocks at the school and in the countryside. Due to the conservative attitude in the region, it was crucial that different genders do not live in the boarding school at the same time. In the remote villages in the east of Morocco, the culture is highly traditional and the girls there are still under strong control of their parents.

In addition to supporting the farming families and their children by means of education and training, we also want to counter the rural exodus that is prevalent in this region, especially among the young population. We aim to train the young people to give them a perspective to join their parents' farms, to grow food sustainably for self-sufficiency, and to generate additional income for their livelihood.

Besides the professional training, we also try to involve the surrounding region to strengthen trust in the community. We organize regular events where residents from the surrounding villages come together and are served Moroccan specialities from own cultivation.

Furthermore, complementing the daily work in the agricultural school, we were able to implement a day care center project in 2019, where children can be looked after. This not only supports the early academic development of young children, but also gives parents the opportunity to continue their education at school because the care of their children is assured.

Another aspect we wanted to improve was the emergency medical care in these rural areas. The shortage of doctors meant that children and adults, if they had any financial means at all, had to travel long distances to the city for routine check-ups. Due to these hurdles, visits to medical facilities were the exception rather than the rule in many families.

For this reason, it was of great concern to us to provide local people in need with free care several times a year and, in the case of serious illnesses, with treatment financed by a charitable association. This, as well as the newly founded kindergarten, is unique for the region and creates a deeper trust in our efforts.

To provide the school and the surrounding countryside with a self-sufficient water supply, which is one of the most significant problems in the dry region, a well was constructed with the help of grants, donations, and friendly local companies. This enabled us to supply the school facilities with water and in a next step we will also ensure the supply of the surrounding agricultural areas by laying water pipes.

A small greenhouse for academic purposes was also built, oriented to the trend of vertical agriculture. This means that the plants are supplied without soil but with a nutrient solution, i.e., with water and nutrients dissolved in it. This makes it possible to avoid external environmental influences, reduce the use of pesticides and achieve higher yields per cultivated area. This project allows students to learn new technologies and apply the knowledge to their own family farms.

For the purpose of bringing more attention to this project in Germany, we decided to establish a non-profit support association in Germany in 2019 under the name "Gemeinnütziger Förderverein Association maison familiale rurale Beni Snassen e.V.'' In doing so, we also want to stimulate political discourse on the current global problems of refugee prevention, sustainability, and environmentally conscious agriculture.

With funding and the generous donations from our friends and long-time business partners, we were able to build a multi-functional sports field to stimulate the young people's enthusiasm in sports as a complement to their academic education. Apart from the joy of sports, this also serves as a balance to their schooling and should promote their health.

As the next big milestone, we plan to revitalise tourism in this region and to build accommodation in the classic Moroccan style. Here, visitors can enjoy the breathtaking landscape, explore hiking trails, and relax from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Here, too, we try to involve the surrounding farming families, who can indulge tourists with local delicacies and build up a second source of income.

This project is a matter of the heart for us and would not have been possible in this form without the incredible willingness to help and generous donations. If you are interested in the project or are even considering supporting it, please feel free to contact us at any time.

"Do it with passion, or not at all." - Rosa Nochette Carey