Children of the Sahara Foundation

(Journal by Liz Williams, July 2009)

Part One

We drive along the Todra Gorge to Tamtattouchte, north of this traditional Berber village to leave the paved road and cross a new piste (off-road) that leads up and over the mountains to Msemir and Dades Gorge.  Along this route we expect to meet several nomad families.
 
Approximately 10km from Tamtattouchte we pass a family of nomads but can see no other tents in the area. We spot another brown wool tent; a woman and boy run out to meet us. We ask if there are other nomads living in the area, but the woman seems unsure so we drive on.  Soon, we discover that the road has been washed away by heavy rains leaving us to drive along a rocky river bed.  It is slow going with the summer sun beating down on us; there is no sign of other tire tracks to indicate anyone else has recently passed this way.
 
A shepherd who tells us he lives high in the mountains with his wife and two small children. The weather here is unpredictable–there is a danger of flash floods.  We give him some clothes for his children.
 
Passing a small group of three tents we again ask if other families live in the area. They have moved. Stone walls that once surrounded nomad tents and protected livestock at night still stand. The river bed soon becomes impassable and with the danger of getting stuck, we turn back towards Tamtattouchte and the nomads.
 
A woman, a man, three girls and a boy walk out to greet us. We join them and in line with local tradition, I sit with the woman and girls who do their best to part me from my earrings, rings and clothes. Three families live here. Everyone else is out herding or collecting water and wood. The women prepare tea on an open fire inside the thick goat hair tent. They hand me a piece of corn bread that’s as heavy as a brick.  The  woman, who looks worn and exhausted, shows me the wool she is preparing for spinning. The children look well with shoes on their feet even if their clothes are full of holes. I ask if they can read and write but I learn there isn’t a nearby school. 

After tea we all walk back to the car where my colleague Abdoullah hands out supplies we have brought with us: lentils, rice, beans, honey, sardines, clothes, oil, soap, hand cream and other essentials.  The woman says she does not know how to cook the beans and asks if she can make tagine with them. We explain that she can cook them like lentils. The nomad family is delighted with the supplies, especially now that the road has been washed away. They wave goodbye with hands on their hearts as a gesture of thanks.  It feels difficult, on this first visit, to establish any real rapport–I know it would take time and repeated visits.

A nomad camp in the High Atlas Mountains.

A woman prepares tea.

Abdoullah Bassou hands out supplies to the nomads.
Photos by Liz Williams

Go to Part Two