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Morocco Week in Review
December 10 , 2011
San Clemente Native Son Readies for Peace Corps
by Stacie N. Galang / Dec 01, 2011
Lifeguard to serve in Morocco helping youth
Ryan Buckley plans to leave behind his comfortable lifestyle in San Clemente for more than two years of third-world service with the Peace Corps.
Why he’d be willing to give up his first-world digs for youth development work in Morocco lies, he said, precisely in a sense of gratitude for an upbringing in affluent South Orange County and a longing to help others.
“I want to be able to go out and give to people that don’t have this and educate people on the condition of the world outside San Clemente,” said Buckley who still sports the golden tan earned by months of lifeguarding at the city’s beaches.
When he leaves for Africa in March, the 23-year-old will join the ranks of 1,134 California residents currently serving in the Peace Corps. All told, more than 27,356 California residents have served in the Peace Corps since President John F. Kennedy created it in 1961, according to the organization.
Peace Corps volunteers serve in seven main tracks from agriculture and education to health and youth development. Applicants can request an area of the world to work but the organization decides based on the person’s skill set, said Kate Kuykendall, a spokeswoman in the Peace Corps’ Los Angeles office.
Because of his conversational Spanish skills, Buckley’s first choice was Latin America, which is the corps’ most requested region, Kuykendall said.
“We’re really looking for volunteers to go where we need their skills most,” she said. “Many different places in the world are not typically requested.”
Kuykendall said the Peace Corps is looking for people who are flexible about where they serve and what they do — “People who have solid work and or volunteer experience.”
Instead, the Peace Corps saw Buckley’s experience teaching junior lifeguards and coaching water polo as key to his placement and decided to send him to work with children in North Africa.
“I’m definitely a people person,” he said. “I love being around people.”
Though his destination wasn’t his first pick, Buckley said he’s thrilled to be going.
“When I saw Morocco, I was totally blown away,” he said.
The country, he noted, has incredible surf and the people have a reputation for great hospitality. He’s already begun learning Darisha, Morocco’s Arabic dialect.
“I’ve always been pretty good at picking up languages,” Buckley said.
To help, he will stay with a host family for the first three months before taking up his formal assignment. The time with the family is expected to immerse him in the language and the culture.
Though he’ll be on the other side of the world, Buckley will very likely have weekly access to the Internet, Kuykendall said. Most of their volunteers are able to connect with friends and family about once a week, according to a recent survey by the organization.
Peace Corps Alumni
Robert Priola who grew up nearby in Oceanside and graduated from Fallbrook High School served in Moldova from 2003 to 2005 for the Peace Corps. He described the experience as the best of his life but he didn’t want to sugarcoat it.
“It was pretty rough,” said Priola who will make San Clemente his home base this month after living in New York City for five years.
Priola took the economic development track for the organization and worked with a mayor in one of the five largest cities in the former Russian bloc country. He learned to really persist when conditions often seemed bleak.
“It’s a hell of an experience… You really have to learn to pull yourself up by bootstraps,” he said while driving to Florida this week.
Fellow San Clemente resident Stuart Herriges served in the corps’ education and environmental sector in Romania from 2005 to 2007. The 1992 San Clemente High graduate now teaches English in China.
In Romania, he taught conversational English at a high school and business English to interested employees at the local city hall. Herriges said he’d had the opportunity to travel with his parents as a child, which planted the seed for adventure. When 9/11 struck, he longed to serve his country, but military service wasn’t his path. Instead, chose the Peace Corps.
Like Priola, he often combated difficult times.
“It wasn’t always easy,” Herriges wrote. “Continuing to be that lone voice of optimism in a great sea of pessimists was grinding and not always fun, but I wouldn’t change any of my experiences — even the negative ones — in the Peace Corps for anything.”
To Buckley and others considering work with the Peace Corps, Herriges offered strong advice to be flexible.
“On a daily basis, Peace Corps volunteers will see things that will shock them and probably be asked to participate in activities that will be far outside of their comfort zones,” he said by email. “Unless the activity you’re being asked to participate in is clearly dangerous, life-threatening or illegal, I’d urge future Peace Corps volunteers to take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself. You’ll rarely, if ever, regret it.”
San Clemente Ambassador
If San Clemente had a prototype, Buckley just might be its embodiment. A tall and brawny surfer type with moppy hair and a well-established mustache, he seems more likely to greet someone with, “Dude,” than engage in a conversation about Aristotelian thought. Yet Buckley graduated from Fordham University in New York’s Bronx borough with a degree in philosophy and a minor in environmental policy. He received a partial scholarship to play on the university’s Division 1 water polo team, helping to lead it to its first winning season.
San Clemente Marine Safety Chief Bill Humphreys described Buckley as “outstanding, very hard worker.”
“As an employee, he’s very respectful and excellent with the public,” Humphreys said. “He has a lot of great character traits, all the skills necessary to work in virtually any position on the beach.”
The chief said Buckley possessed the rare combination of athleticism and integrity.
“He puts it all together. I’m really happy for him going to the Peace Corps,” Humphreys said. “We sure hate to lose him.”
Lifeguarding, Buckley said, made him the man he is today. It groomed him to be keenly aware of everything going on around him and being prepared to react if needed, he said.
He recalled admiring his lifeguard instructor in junior lifeguarding. Once a lifeguard, he wanted to move up to work in Tower 0 on the Pier.
“Then you realize you’re in charge and you have all the responsibility,” he said.
This fall, he was able to help with a rescue from the tower. He credited his training with helping to ensure an 8-year-old girl was rescued in time, he said.
Ryan’s father Larry Buckley said being a lifeguard also gave his son of sense of wanting to give to others.
The family is extremely proud of Ryan and his decision to join the Peace Corps. While they do have some reservations about him being so far away and in unknown territory, they see it as a positive for Ryan and an opportunity for them to visit Morocco.
“He’s a big boy, and it’s his life and he gets to make choices,” said Larry Buckley, who now lives in Texas. “He said he really wanted to see the world and give back for all the advantages he had. We were very supportive.”
For Larry Buckley, his son’s choice to join the Peace Corps seemed like a natural next step. When it came time to decide on a college, his son had debated between Pepperdine and Fordham, eventually choosing the East Coast school that would allow him to expand his view of the world. He would also get more playing time on the water polo team.
“That experience helped mold him, for sure,” Larry Buckley said. “Fordham was also one of those schools that emphasized giving back in its mission statement, which probably got imbued in him by a certain extent from the university.”
Ryan Buckley said after graduating from Fordham he returned to San Clemente not quite ready to enter the working world or to continue his education, possibly at law school. The Peace Corps will not only give him the chance to travel, adventure and serve foremost, but also to sort out his next steps in life.
Until he leaves in March, Ryan Buckley plans to spend time with family and friends and work odd jobs. He’s presently helping an electrician friend install solar panels.
Ryan Buckley hopes to be an ambassador of San Clemente and plans to bring post cards and T-shirts to distribute in Morocco. He’s a realist about his work.
“I don’t have too many expectations,” he said. “I’m going to do the best while I’m there with what I have.”
http://www.sanclementetimes.com/view/full_story/16622300/article-San-Clemente-Native-Son-Readies-for-Peace-Corps?instance=eye_on_sc
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Small Foundation Achieves Big Goals in the Country.
Jane Morse 5 December 2011 Washington
The High Atlas Foundation doesn't have a big budget, but it achieves some impressive results in helping the rural poor of Morocco improve their lives, thanks to its unwavering dedication to community participation.
Founded in 2000 by former U.S. Peace Corps volunteers who had served in Morocco specifically, in the region of the High Atlas Mountains the non-profit, non-governmental organisation has grass-roots development programs that have, for example, planted 320,000 fruit and nut-bearing trees benefiting approximately 30,000 people and provided clean drinking water that has helped halve infant mortality.
It also responds to community requests for training programs and initiatives for youth and women's empowerment.
The High Atlas Foundation has spent countless hours organizing community meetings (now in six provinces) in which ordinary Moroccans can participate in developing and implementing projects to improve their communities.
And therein lies the key to the foundation's growing success, says Yossef Ben-Meir, its co-founder and president and a former Peace Corps volunteer. "Essentially, the foundation is really about community consensus building," Ben-Meir said. "It takes a great amount of time, and it's incredibly difficult to achieve. But you really need to develop trust [within the community].
That means your project team and the representatives of your organization need to have a regular presence in these remote, very difficult areas. ... It's really a matter of endurance and not giving up." But it's that persistence, he said, that has earned his organization national, provincial, local and international support.
Take High Atlas Foundation's 1 Million Tree Campaign as an example. About 70 percent of the land devoted to agriculture in Morocco is routinely planted in barley or corn, but those crops only generate 10 to 15 percent of all agricultural revenue, Ben-Meir said.
While it takes time for fruit and nut trees to reach bearing age, Morocco's poor farmers recognize that it no longer makes sense to grow the traditional staples, he said. To help farming communities make the switch to agricultural products with potential for higher income, Ben-Meir's foundation has helped organize co-op tree nurseries, and the Moroccan government has worked with local municipalities to donate land for the purpose.
Half a U.S. dollar buys and transports a single sapling and transfers critical skills to community members who maintain the nurseries, but 100 fruit-bearing trees can increase a family's income fivefold or more, according to Ben-Meir. "Because we've been doing this for over 10 years, we already see truckloads of new yields of fruits and nuts going to markets," he said.
There are indirect benefits as well, he said. "In remote areas, by planting trees, the communities build the roads and improve the infrastructure to get the produce from their trees to market."
The foundation's success on a small budget is due to the fact that all the labor for its projects has been provided by individuals within local communities and the foundation's volunteers.
Money for materials has come from donations. But the increasing scope of High Atlas Foundation programs is requiring the group to have paid staff, Ben-Meir said.
The former Peace Corps members who established the High Atlas Foundation are now outnumbered by Moroccans, Ben-Meir said. "Even so, we never lost the volunteer aspect of the organization," he said. http://allafrica.com/stories/201112060440.html
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Discover Rural Tourism in Morocco: Part I
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
by Andrea Papitto, NYU Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management
This is a 6-part series on rural tourism in Southern Morocco, told through members of the newly formed rural tourism association, Réseau de Développement Touristique Rural (RDTR), located in the Souss Massa Draa Region in Southern Morocco.
Kasbahs, ancient medinas, stunning arts and crafts, rich culinary traditions, sea, sun, mountains, the desert, and a sweet cup of mint tea. Morocco has long been a favorite destination for world travelers, attracting over 9 million visitors in 2010 alone. While many tourists come to soak up the sun and sea in the coastal towns or visit the historic imperial cities of Fès, Marrakech, Meknès, and Rabat, more and more are discovering the rich natural and cultural treasures of the rural countryside.
Often a short distance and easily navigable from the country’s better known tourism destinations, many rural tourism ventures give tourists a window to learn about Morocco’s rich culture and traditions in a natural setting.
Rural tourism is a vital piece in Morocco’s national tourism makeup, especially for social and economic development outside of the increasingly overpopulated urban areas. Visiting rural tourism destinations spurs growth in the local economies, creates jobs, and supports diversification of the country’s largely agriculture-based economy.
With the increasing importance of rural tourism in the country, stakeholders from across Southern Morocco came together in May 2011 to form Morocco’s first rural tourism association. The Réseau de Dévelopement Touristique Rural (RDTR) was developed to strengthen institutional capabilities, develop rural touristic circuits, support capacity-building and staff training in rural areas, create a rural tourism eco-label, and enhance the promotion of rural tourism products.
The objectives of RDTR are timely and relevant in today’s tourism marketplace, where small and medium-sized businesses have a greater chance of success by collaborating and sharing resources to compete with mass tourism goliaths. And the good news for RDTR members is that the market is shifting. Tourists are beginning to demand travel that is slower, more authentic, and respectful of the people and places they visit.
Over the next five weeks, you are invited to learn about five rural tourism projects in the Souss Massa Draa Region of Southern Morocco—from Amina’s desert riad and wellness centers, Jamal’s hotel set amongst the waterfalls of Imouzzer, Abdelhakim’s hotel along the honey road, M’hand’s open invitation to his dinner table, and Hassan and Helene’s hopes for eco-tourism in Morocco.
To learn more about the rural tourism opportunities in Morocco, visit: www.tourismeruralmaroc.com or http://www.facebook.com/groups/rdtrmaroc/. http://www.africa.com/blog/blog,discover_rural_tourism_in_morocco_part_i,478.html
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Who carries out investment in Morocco?
ZOUHAIR BAGHOUGH 12/09/11 Washington--Morocco Board News
Who carries out investment in Morocco? The evidence shows only central government does; For sure companies do their bit as well, but their investment is not up to scratch. I am referring explicitly to those larger “national champions” who enjoy monopoly (or oligopoly) rents because they are supposedly our only chance to deal with an ever more threatening globalization;
the story goes, let these conglomerates (a private and Moroccan version of Kombinats) concentrate resources, enjoy generous government subsidies and exemptions to grow and go on to get Morocco some business abroad. Their newly acquired resources are then reinvested at home to the benefit of everyone: Maroc Telecom, CDG, ONA-SNI and a few other companies portraying Corporate Morocco have been allowed to practise a large-scale version of trickle-down economics: their powerful economic and political connections prevent any serious threat from regulatory bodies or potential competitor to even ever exist.
But fine, let us roll with that argument for a while: suppose that trickle-down economics is doing fine; that these companies over the past decade have had enough time and resources and profits to build themselves niches and comfortable lead on their respective markets; we should be now expecting some large spending on asset acquisition, we should have a look at these companies’ balance sheets and observe a noticeable increase in their tangible assets, perhaps their inventories, definitely some increase in capital size. But the trouble is, we don’t.
The first thing to record is the significant difference between crony, rent-oriented capitalism, and productive, value-creation capitalism: the latter is based on political patronage, corruption and investment in safe but non-productive sectors, the former is riskier, but tends to generate more activity and more jobs. The last three years recorded an annual average Gross Capital Formation of 270 Bn. That’s 36% of GDP, and as IMF reports:
Although investment rates to GDP have increased significantly over the last decade in Morocco, this has not translated into higher economic growth.
While during 1999-2010 Morocco’s investment rate was the second largest in the sample below, its growth rate is relatively lower. The quality and efficiency of investment projects may contribute to explain these differences.
So Morocco is investing quite a lot -relative to its GDP- but this constant effort does not translate into growth, insofar other emerging countries manage to perform higher growth rate – perhaps Moroccan investments aren’t as profitable to growth as one might think – or, alternatively, these are profitable, but only in terms of monetary, and not real, returns.
In addition to that, it is also worth investigating the precise investment share shouldered by private and public operators: it is no use to let the budget bear the brunt of essential investments (whose effects on growth are more of a long-term nature) and let private businesses just get away with it; From a pure financial point of view, companies would not commit resources to buy assets unless there’s some optimistic appraisal of future cash-flows; as far as paid dividends go, there is a healthy 10% annual return cashed in during the last three years, an average of 31Bn over 2008-2011, even though significant sectors -save for banking- took a hit over the same period of time. That’s a 100Bn right into the pockets of a nucleus of shareholders who do not get to invest it in tangible assets.
Levels of dividends are therefore high enough to consider investing assets in whatever company MASI subsumes and able to yield as high a profit as the composite index itself. If a company does manage such high a dividend, surely it can provide enough resources to invest in assets. But instead, they keep on spending them to keep shareholders happy, too happy, perhaps.
But what about public investments? Over the considered last three years, public expenditure (including Hassan II fund and SEGMAs) allocated to investment reached 154 Bn on average (51Bn of it attached to central government) that is 60% of gross capital formation, with the entire private sector providing for the remaining 120Bn average per year. Strangely enough, it seems the entire private sector -those companies large enough to afford equally large spendings in asset acquisition- saw fit not to add some 30Bn every year, or 4 basis points in investments that could well be directed to profitable and productive assets.
And it is not like financial products were supposed to yield higher returns: Bank Al Maghrib‘s main rates over the last 3 years were historically low: it was 3.5% in 2008, it is now 3.25%, the lowest level for decades indeed. Investors should, in view of very lenient interest rate constraints, opt in for asset acquisition; as a matter of fact, long-term investments are even better suited at times when liquidity is quite scarce: there is no need to hold cash in order to expand capacity production, network platform or other expenditure needed to increase production of goods and services.
The question might seem trivial, but it would be great to know exactly if investment does help expand growth, if it does indeed; first off, there is a clear correlation between GDP and Gross Capital Formation (the nearest indicator to domestic investment) and not only that, but it tends to increase over time (as the table shows indeed) and computations on annual data shows also a certain ‘pull effect’: while investment surely does not determine growth wholly, it certainly contributes a great deal, perhaps between a third and 40% of it, depending on the number of lags and how one arranges them, and again under certain circumstances, it is safe to say that over the last decade, investment has contributed, on average, 2.2 basis points of GDP growth.
Considering the computations on Morocco’s potential GDP growth, Capital contributes -on average- 43% of potential output, the numbers seem to make sense, and following, could yield good predictions, in the event these annual 30Bn of dividends were spent in asset acquisition rather than going into the pockets of Corporate Morocco’s shareholders: an additional 4 basis points in gross capital formation would have almost no impact on the initial year’s GDP growth, but that nonetheless carry its effect over the next couple of years, and it is safe to believe that future effects on growth are underestimated.
all in all, a constant 4% increase over 3 years, from 2008 to 2011 would have increased average GDP growth from 4.6% to 5.5%, with a potential (residual) residual of 0.3 basis points to gain for the next coming years. Increasing growth to 5.5% would have meant a GDP gain of 120Bn instead of the record 80Bn. Now, ceteris paribus, investing money back would have brought more than the cashed in 100Bn in dividends, a discounted value of 103Bn – an additional 3 Bn that would have generated growth, jobs, income and wealth to these shareholders as well as many others.
The only cost they would have incurred was to wait – no opportunity cost, just the waiting time. But greed it seems, as got the better of sound economic computations, a greed fueled by easy rent-oriented business and a fiscal policy complacent about these activities.
http://www.moroccoboard.com/viewpoint/124-zouhair-baghough-/5517-who-carries-out-investment-in-morocco
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Amazigh World Music By Imanaren
DAVID MAINE 12/06/11
Looking for “authentic” world music? You won’t get much more down-to-earth than Imanaren, a group of Amazigh musicians from the south of Morocco whose debut record was self-released on a limited scale within the country before being re-released by the Dutty Artz label. According to the label’s Web site, band leader Hassan Wargui “isn’t allowed to play music in the house, so we recorded [some music videos] with his local friends and fellow musicians in a natural amphitheatre carved out by a waterfall in a dry gorge.” Traditional musicians relegated to outdoors practice by unimpressed family patriarchs? Now that’s authentic.
The good news is twofold. DIY or not, the recording quality of Imanaren’s debut is impressively full and warm, if a little weak in the lower registers, and just as important, the tunes are smokin’. My understanding of what constitutes “traditional Berber (Amazigh) music” is hazy at best – except for knowing that Berbers are the indigenous, non-Arab peoples of North Africa, whose populations traditionally tended to concentrate in the mountains.
Fortunately, further knowledge is entirely unnecessary to appreciate tracks like “Taldrar N Lawlia (The Flowering of the Wise)”. The tune rolls from the speakers on a gentle bed of hand drum rhythms and a plucked oud (lute) melody which is picked up and amplified by the intertwining vocals. The tune weaves a hypnotic spell which ends all too quickly notwithstanding its 4:40 running time.
That running time makes this the second shortest track on the album. There are only seven songs here, but five of them are in the six to nine minute-plus range, making for a satisfying listening experience. Songs have plenty of time to find a groove and milk it. Instrumental solos and rhyhmic shifts are few, but if you like to trance out, this might be your new favourite record.
“Ajddige (The Rose)” picks up the tempo a little, using the oud to weave a more complex rhythm and counterpoint to the vocals while sacrificing nothing in terms of listenability. “Ayyiss Bo Tdlal (The Jeweled Horse)” checks in at nearly nine and a half minutes, tapping the same head-nodding vibe. New sounds begin creeping in with this song – something that sounds suspiciously like a dulcimer underpins the whole affair, and the tune is served by a down tempo beat and a gently wailing, almost qawwali-like vocal. Unlike most other songs, this vocal is mostly solo, and thus lacks the sweetness of voices singing in unison.
The second half of the album returns to the (relatively) familiar template laid out at the start. “Assmoun (Companions)” is the standout here, a steady mid-tempo number that chug-a-lugs along with layered percussion and those sweet vocals. The album ends on an unusual note, with a live recording of “Rriy (Split Opinions)” a solo vocal/oud affair which is captured by the Dutty Artz crew and offers noticeably crisper sound.
Imanaren offers a refreshingly earthy change from the studio-tweaked, guest-star-studded offerings from some recent world music big shots (cough cough Tinariwen cough cough Youssou N’Dour cough cough Vieux Farka Toure). The band make no attempt to “cross over” into global stardom, but what they play, they play very well. Listeners looking to make a trip to the Atlas Mountains – even if only in their heads – will want this recording as their soundtrack.
Article previously published by Pop matters
DAVID MAINE is a novelist and essayist. His books include The Preservationist (2004), Fallen (2005), The Book of Samson (2006) and Monster, 1959 (2008). He has contributed to The Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, Esquire.com and NPR.com, among other outlets. He is a lifelong music obsessive whose interests range from rock to folk to hip-hop to international to blues. He currently lives in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he teaches at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Catch up with his blog, The Party Never Stops, at davidmaine.blogspot.com, or become his buddy on Facebook to keep up with reviews and other developments. http://www.moroccoboard.com/news/5513-morocco-amazigh-world-music-by-imanaren
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Can Morocco become a standard for good governance?
Othmane Rahmouni 12/05/11
Let's take a few minutes and imagine if in Morocco things were just a little different. Imagine that when it came to engaging with public institutions across the country, your last name or your social status did not matter. Imagine that whether one needed a birth certificate or a police report or any other service, all citizens were treated the same and were provided with a prompt service by a friendly staff who really cared about their satisfaction as citizens.
Imagine that when families sent their children to public schools anywhere in the country, they knew they would get the best education possible knowing that every single taxpayer dirham focused on education was actually going toward furthering their education. Imagine that when stopped by a police officer for an infraction, no citizen would even consider reaching for their wallet except for getting their driver license. Imagine that when any tribunal issued any judgment, citizens felt confident that judges were fair and neutral and free of any conflict of interest. Imagine if the ethical standards of employees at a public institution was such that they would be ashamed to accept a bribe from anyone regardless of the amount. Imagine if all elected officials or government leaders were pursuing these roles and career out of passion to serve their country and its citizens and that nowhere along the way would they use their position for any illegitimate personal gain or lose their neutrality or objectivity when making decisions. Imagine that next time an international organization published an independent study as to the level of corruption in different countries, Morocco was being compared to Scandinavian countries rather than other African or Arab countries that all tend to fall in the middle or the bottom of the list.
I often wonder about what it would take to make such a utopian dream a reality. Over the years, there have been many conventions signed, conferences organized, special commissions created and new policies defined; yet, whether you look at international reports or hear from the average citizen, Morocco has yet to make any considerable and measurable advancement in fighting corruption and establishing good public governance. In the latest Transparency International annual report, Morocco scored a 3.4 on their Corruption perception index ranking them behind 84 other countries in the world. Most people would just accept this as a hard reality but I believe in a pragmatic way to actually make that dream a reality. I believe that if citizens are empowered to voice their concerns and actively participate in driving change in the system, things can start evolving in the right direction. I think that the change starts when everyone at all levels of the government and across all public administrations is held accountable, and the people who are best positioned to do so are citizens. Ultimately, it is the taxpayer dirhams that are financing all the public institutions and contributing to the salaries of all the public and governmental officials so it should be their rights to demand accountability from all of them. Having an effective public system across the country should enable for better pubic services for all citizens and an improved quality of life especially for those at the bottom of the pyramid.
It is with the intent of attempting to enable this vision that I recently launched a new website in Morocco called Govpinion.com to serve as a tool for citizens to drive transparency and accountability from the public officials and institutions that are serving them. The site currently allows users to provide a score and share their opinions about various public institutions and officials in the Moroccan government and the public administration with many more being added each week. This is also only the first step in many to make Govpinion.com a true enabler of social change in Morocco and to create a new standard for good public governance. I have published a video in Arabic, French and in English with more information about Govpinion.com which I encourage you to watch. I also ask that you start using the website and help us spread the word about it. Finally, make sure to join our Facebook page and engage in a conversation with the rest of the Govpinion community about how we can, together, help shape the Morocco of tomorrow. http://www.moroccoboard.com/news/5509-can-morocco-become-a-new-standard-for-good-public-governance
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Harnessing desert sun to power Europe.
By Aidan Lewis BBC News, Ouarzazate, Morocco December 2011
The potential of desert sunshine - if it can be harvested - is almost unlimited. It is a beguiling idea - harvest sunshine, and a little wind, from the empty deserts of North Africa and the Middle East, and use it to produce clean power for the region and for Europe.
Desertec, a group based in Germany with heavyweight commercial backers including Siemens and Deutsche Bank, says the scheme would also bring the regions around the Mediterranean closer together, while providing jobs and stability for the countries in the south.
It has chosen Morocco, which is embarking on its own ambitious solar programme, for its first "reference" project - a plant meant to show that its grand vision is feasible.
Desertec expects to see the first electricity flowing through undersea cables from Morocco to Spain as early as 2014. But its stated goal - using desert power to supply up to 100% of local needs and up to 15% of European demand by 2050 - has attracted critics who question whether such a vision is possible, or even necessary.
'Nothing unrealistic'
No-one doubts the physical potential of the desert to generate renewable power. According to a study by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), a state agency that provided data used by Desertec, less than 1% of suitable land in the North Africa and the Middle East would be needed to cover the current electricity consumption of the region, as well as Europe.
Many countries with intense sunshine also have large tracts of uninhabited land. But creating a power network presents a series of formidable problems, from nomads stealing solar components to the technological and political challenges of transporting and delivering electricity over such a vast area.
Paul Van Son, the Desertec Industrial Initiative's chief executive, stresses that his group has no detailed blueprint, but aims instead to create the broad conditions for a solar network to be developed. "There is nothing which is unrealistic," he says. "It's already happening today, there are installations in the deserts, solar installations, wind parks - it all works.
"There are electrical grids from Tunisia, Algeria for instance and Morocco to Spain and Europe. It's possible to transport electricity over long, long distances." Desertec points to a pair of cables already installed between Morocco and Spain - though for now these are carrying power from north to south. It says it will work closely with Medgrid, a French scheme to enable the construction of a Mediterranean transmission system.
'Scaling up'
While analysts acknowledge that the technology exists, and is getting cheaper, they say it is untested on an intercontinental level. "What we'd be talking of is scaling up to a massive size technologies which so far have only really existed in quite small configurations," says Malcolm Keay of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. "This would all be really quite novel and I think at the moment people are just feeling their way."
The technology that will initially be used in Morocco is concentrated solar power (CSP), a process in which sunlight concentrated by mirrors heats water, which produces steam to drive a turbine.
Crucially, the heat can be stored, allowing a secure supply even when the sun is not shining.
CSP has been getting cheaper, but not as quickly as photovoltaic (PV) power - the use of solar panels to convert sunshine directly into electricity. The DLR estimates that solar thermal power stations will become competitive with their fossil fuel equivalents between 2020 and 2030.
This will allow Desertec, which has estimated the cost of its 2050 vision at a mind-boggling $400bn, to "attract investment from the market in a very natural way", says Mr Van Son.
European renewable energy targets and Germany's decision this year to phase out nuclear power is likely to drive demand.
Still, heavy European financial involvement will initially be needed, which Mr Keay says would throw up a further set of challenges: "Major international treaties, legal frameworks for transport - all those sorts of things."
Valentin Hollain of Eurosolar, a German non-profit organisation that promotes renewable energy, queries the entire concept of Desertec. He argues that big corporations are using large-scale projects like Desertec and Medgrid to retain their position into the next generation, and that a mix of renewable power supplied locally can meet demand while keeping prices down for consumers. "I think it will always be cheaper than collecting energy in the desert and then bringing it to Europe with a massive infrastructure that will cost billions of euros," he said.
Morocco's ambitions
On the southern side, North African states heavily subsidise fossil fuels, something which would have to change if solar were to become genuinely competitive there. That would require political will, something Mr Van Son says is increasing, partly due to the realisation that oil and gas will not last forever. "Some countries were not convinced about solar energy at all, but this changed dramatically in the last two years," he says.
Morocco has so far shown the most enthusiasm.
Desertec is hoping that construction will start there next year on a 500 megawatt (MW) solar plant, though the exact location and technology mix are yet to be confirmed.
Confusingly, Morocco is also due to start building the first of five of its own solar plants in 2012, near the south-eastern desert town of Ouarzazate.
Morocco is the only North African country without significant oil and gas deposits, and it wants to produce 42% of its electricity from renewable sources - solar, wind and hydro-electric - by 2020. A growing population and ambitious industrial programme mean the country's demand for energy is projected to quadruple by 2030. "This is unsustainable," says Obaid Amrane, a board member of the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (Masen).
"Moroccan authorities have decided to put Morocco on a clean growth path, to explore and use the tremendous potential of renewable energy." "We are preparing the post-fuel period for our children."
Who will benefit?
Mr Amrane is at pains to emphasise that the country's priority is providing power to its own population. But along the way, he says Morocco - a country that presents itself as a haven of stability that is open to foreign investors - is keen to co-operate with Desertec and any other regional projects.
Morocco is to begin a 500MW solar plant in the desert near Ouarzazate
Still, the question of who will benefit from solar plants is likely to be a source of tension, both locally and internationally.
In Tasslamante, a few kilometres from the site of Morocco's first plant, villagers are doubtful as to whether the solar farm will bring the jobs, money and services that they hope for. Moroccan authorities say they are sensitive to local concerns, which are unlikely in any case to hamper a $9bn project with backing from King Mohammed VI. "Because the push came from the top it's been pretty efficient by North African standards," says John Marks, a North Africa expert at risk analysis firm Cross-Border Information.
As for the Desertec idea, mistrust could surface on both sides of the Mediterranean, says Mr Keay. "There's going to be an unwillingness, I suspect, on the European side to trust suppliers from that source and to think that they're secure in the way indigenous suppliers are," he says.
The governments that emerge after the current unrest in the region could be more nationalist and less happy at the idea of sharing their resources with Europe, he adds. "They will feel that because the Arab Spring has shown a lot of discontent they will have to do more and more directly for their population." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15984493
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Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Morocco, Latifa Akherbach, has spoken out about how her country is mustering support in the fight against climate change. She was speaking at the COP 17 conference which she believes is meant to restore confidence and renew determination among participants to listen to each other and work with civil society in tackling global warming.
Akherbach said the fact that countries are aiming for an increase in average temperatures of two degrees Celsius, instead of 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels proves the inability of countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. She said there is a need to adopt a new model which is environmentally and human friendly. She added that despite the fact that Morocco is only able to make a small contribution, she is fully convinced it will make a remarkable difference.
Akherbach explained some of the strategies Morocco is implementing in the on-going fight against climate change. She said, they fight greenhouse gas emission through a participatory approach. They have designed a national strategy to move from carbon based to non-carbon based in the sphere of water, energy, and agriculture. She remarked it is the right of the citizens to have a sound development. In this light they have adopted a policy to reduce greenhouse gas and to improve in economic development.
By 2020, Morocco plans to have made significant progress on a range of sectors including renewable energy, cultural heritage monitoring and the fight against desertification by planting three million palm trees. Akherbach calls for a self-self-cooperation in Africa and the mobilisation of technical and financial resources. "We need to operationalise the Green Climate Fund by providing financial resources for the GCF.
She also called for a second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol, because she said "We are wasting time and some countries have become spectators while our planet suffers". http://allafrica.com/stories/201112071674.html
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Social Innovation: Morocco to become a Power House of Solar Energy
Is it possible for social innovation to harvest solar energy from the plains of the Moroccan desert? Well, DESERTEC Foundation, a global civil society initiative aiming to shape a sustainable future, believes it can. It's expecting to see the first electricity flowing through undersea cables from Morocco to Spain as early as 2014. The aim is to use desert power to supply up to 100% of local needs and up to 15% of European demand by 2050. Paul Van Son, CEO, DESERTEC Investment Initiative, says, "There is nothing which is unrealistic." Morocco is the only North African country without significant oil and gas deposits; with a growing population and ambitious industrial programme, the country's demand for energy is projected to quadruple by 2030.
The planet is currently facing big challenges as global energy demand is climbing rapidly due to population growth and the progress of industrialisation. At the same time, globalCO 2 emissions have to be drastically reduced within the next few years in order to prevent the disasters caused by climate change. This is where the concept of DESERTEC steps in, offering a worldwide solution of sufficient clean power that can be generated from deserts to supply everyone with enough electricity on a sustainable basis. DESERTEC is an integrated social innovation idea, which includes energy security, climate protection, drinking water production, socio-economic development, security policy and international cooperation.
European renewable energy targets, along with Germany's decision this year to phase out nuclear power, will drive significant demand, and no-one doubts the physical potential of the desert to generate renewable power. In fact it is already happening: there are social innovation installations in the deserts, solar installations and wind parks. However, creating a power network in the desert presents a series of tough problems, from nomads stealing solar parts to the technological and political challenges of transporting and delivering electricity over such a big area.
The social innovation technology that will initially be used in Morocco is Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), a process in which sunlight is concentrated by mirrors to heat water which produces steam to drive a turbine. The heat can be stored, allowing a secure supply even when the sun is not shining. CSP is becoming cheaper, though not as quickly as Photovoltaic (PV) power, which is the use of solar panels to convert sunshine directly into electricity.
DESERTEC is hoping that construction will start in 2012 on a 500 megawatt (MW) solar plant, though the exact location and social innovation technology are to be determined. Interestingly, at the same time as DESERTEC hopes to start the process, Morocco too is also due to start building the first of five of its own solar plants in 2012, near the south-eastern desert town of Ouarzazate. So, I will leave you all with this great fact from DESERTEC: "within six hours deserts receive more energy from the sun than humankind consumes in a year."
http://www.justmeans.com/Social-Innovation-Morocco-become-a-Power-House-of-Solar-Energy/50976.html
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In the heart of Marrakesh, contemporary art gets little peace.
In a former branch of the Banque du Maroc earlier this autumn, sound from a dozen video installations met the cacophony of the historic Djemaa el-Fna square, where food vendors peddled their fare to tourists, snake charmers lined up their cobras and monkeys were paraded on leashes. At dusk, a call to prayer sounded from the Koutoubia Mosque’s landmark minaret.
“It’s a symbolic act to be here,” Hicham Daoudi, founder of the Marrakesh Art Fair, said as he looked out at the teeming agora where 16 people were killed in a terrorist bombing in April.
The exhibition “Images Affranchies,” showing video art and photography from important young Moroccan and Middle Eastern artists, was part of the fair’s desire to reach out to Marrakesh residents who have little experience with contemporary art and may have been put off by a visit to the fair’s white-walled booths at the luxurious Es Saadi Palace, where the well-heeled sipped Champagne and nibbled hors d’oeuvres on a rambunctious opening night.
The fair, whose second edition ran this year from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3, is one of several initiatives that is bringing contemporary art to the nooks and crannies of old-world Marrakesh, through one-off exhibitions, artist residencies, gallery shows or occasional glitzy events, setting worldly expression in what remains an old-world society.
“Marrakesh is burdened by its somewhat folksy postcard image — but we don’t want to be just another city of shishas and Persian carpets,” Mr. Daoudi said. “That culture is no longer relevant to Moroccan youth. We would like people to come to this very touristy city and be able to confront it through contemporary creation.”
Brahim Alaoui, the curator of “Images Affranchies,” chose mysterious, tragicomic and critical works by Mounir Fatmi, Hicham Benohoud and Youssef Nabil. Other work included Mehdi Meddaci’s “Sans titre — Alger la blanche,” dreamy, slow-motion footage of a burqa-clad woman firing a single pistol shot into the air before collapsing, and the Iraqi artist Adel Abidin’s “Memorial,” the heart-wrenching animated death of a cow as it tries to reach its herd across a broken bridge, in a desolate and war-torn landscape. “We wanted to not lock ourselves inside palaces,” Mr. Alaoui said.
During the fair, an accompanying festival at the historic movie theater Le Colisée showed Nabil Ayouch’s controversial film, “Une minute de soleil en moins” (A Minute of Sun Less), which was banned in 2002 for examining homosexuality in Arab society.
“It was a gamble, and I don’t think we could have done it anywhere else in the Arab world,” Mr. Daoudi said. He added: “The fair should not cut itself off from the public, whether people are rich or poor, educated or not.” In one day, about 1,600 people attended the festival’s screenings.
The Marrakesh Art Fair has gained traction since its debut in 2010, almost doubling the number of exhibitors this year — there were 48 galleries from 11 countries, including from Italy, Russia and the United States. Still, Mr. Daoudi said, the fair cannot be fairly judged until its fifth or sixth edition.
The fair and the Marrakesh Biennale, which began in 2005, are bold departures in this city. Most of the galleries still cater to traditional collectors who buy national artists and are easily swayed by the art fancies of King Mohammed VI.
“If Moroccan collectors don’t take an interest in international art, foreign collectors will never pay attention to Moroccan painting,” said Youssef Falaky, a director of the Matisse Art Gallery. “There must be an exchange.”
Matisse is one of the few true galleries in Marrakesh. Painting and photography are most often exhibited in shops or in such locales as the charming Dar Chérifa literary café.
Even if Morocco’s leading gallery circuit remains in Casablanca, Marrakesh is becoming known as a creative hotspot. Recently, new dealers have begun to explore the modern Guéliz neighborhood, among them David Bloch, who opened a street art gallery there last year. There is also Galerie 127, which was North Africa’s first photography gallery when it opened in 2006, and Galerie Rê, which remains one of the city’s sleekest spaces, showing Moroccan and French artists.
“We are trying to fill in for the museums,” said Mr. Falaky, noting that Marrakesh lacks a true modern or contemporary art museum. Matisse divides its exhibitions between younger Moroccan artists, like Badr Bourbian, Hassan Hajjaj and Abderrahim Iqbi, and popular French artists, including Arman, Jacques Villeglé and Pierre Soulages.
The top-down approach is reversed at Dar Al-Ma’mûn, 14 kilometers, about 10 miles, from Marrakesh. Nestled among orchards and small villages, the arts center, named after a ninth-century caliph and scholar, is slowly opening for business in the new Hotel Fellah, an eco-style system of earthy villas and gardens. Through a nonprofit model rare in Morocco, the hotel’s business will finance artist residencies, local education programs and an ambitious library of 100,000 books, with help from Libraries Without Borders.
Construction will begin next year on a new building comprising artist studios, an exhibition space and a reading room that can hold 150 people. The art center is still developing its exhibitions profile, but is pondering a collaboration with the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. Until then, amid scholastic programs for local children, literacy classes for adults and a translation program, the 15 to 20 yearly residencies are a way for Moroccan artists to connect with their international colleagues.
“There is no structure for artists in Morocco, which is a real problem,” said Julien Amicel, the co-director of Dar Al-Ma’mûn, who also helped establish the Point Éphémère art center in Paris. “So they tend to emigrate to England, the United States or France. The country sees limited aesthetic renewal, and there is a rupture in the knowledge of what goes on abroad.”
Dar Al-Ma’mûn is now welcoming its third crop of artists. Recent residents include the Moroccan performance artist Mohamed Arejdal and the French artists Nicolas Moulin and Julia Cottin, who sought inspiration in the architecture of Casablanca’s first high-rise apartment building, Le Liberté. Prominent curators, museum directors and gallery owners have also taken to the project. Marc-Olivier Wahler, the director of the Palais de Tokyo; Enrico Lunghi, the director of the Mudam Luxembourg; and the prominent Paris gallery owner Kamel Mennour have figured on its selection committee. More than 550 artists from 84 countries applied for its latest round of residencies.
“Our only worry is that the high level of the international candidates pushes the Moroccan level comparatively lower,” Mr. Amicel said.
The Moroccan painter Mohamed Mourabiti may be the godfather of the grassroots approach here. In 2000, he set up his studio among the olive trees near Tahanaout, about 30 kilometers from Marrakesh. Since then, he has been painstakingly building Al Maqam, a bright, open artists’ retreat of barn-like work spaces and modern living interiors in buildings made to look like rustic, brown mud houses.
At Al Maqam, time seems to slow down in gardens of lime trees and sculptures. Dozens of artists have transited through the place over the years and left behind mixed-media paintings, sculptures of colorful string, nails and steel wool sponges, and in one room, an Antony Gormley-esque white plaster body cast with barbed wire. One artist, Mahi Binebine, “came for two or three months and has now stayed here for the past five years,” Mr. Mourabiti said.
Humorous and self-deprecating, Mr. Mourabiti began Al Maqam after being told by the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Casablanca that his grades were not good enough for admittance. “It gave me the idea of a place where your grades are not required,” he said.
Artists learn about the center by word of mouth and are selected through commissions and partner associations.
“There should be more investors in artists, but there unfortunately aren’t in Morocco,” Mr. Mourabiti said. “We have investors who buy walls and hang art to sell it, but we need much more space to create.”
The Marrakesh Biennale increasingly looks like a nexus for the many efforts, drawing world-famous artists for exhibitions, debates and exchanges in the city since 2005. Julian Schnabel, Francis Alÿs, Zadie Smith and Richard E. Grant top the list of invitees for the next edition, from Feb. 29 to March 4, 2012. For the Biennale’s main visual arts show, “Higher Atlas,” 30 artists from 15 countries are perusing Marrakesh, seeking inspiration for works that will be produced specifically for the biennale.
Installations and performances throughout the city should stimulate curiosity and debates around contentious issues, which will be framed by art, cinema and literature.
“We want to leave a legacy of creativity behind, rather than just fly artworks in and leaving them there,” said Vanessa Branson, the director of the Biennale.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/10/arts/10iht-SCMARRAKESH10.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1323529389-/Ea7RphO4OYxcU8vJYN2QA
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Morocco’s monarchy spent the better part of 2011 touting new political reforms. Now, following the first national elections under a new constitution, the country’s leadership is faced with the challenge of finding a stable way forward and the means to pay for its new spending plans.
Echoing the actions of governments across the region, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI responded to a growing wave of public protests in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya earlier this year with a two-tiered pledge of political reform and increased financial aid to the local population. Although the country had largely escaped the kind of large-scale demonstrations that filled city centres in Cairo and Tunis, Morocco’s February 20 movement of reform-minded groups and members of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) garnered support as the country’s version of the Arab Spring.
After nearly tripling food and fuel subsidies and increasing government worker salaries, the king introduced a new constitution that would be the subject of a public referendum during the summer. Among other changes, the new document placed greater authority in the country’s parliament, guaranteed the appointment of a prime minister from the party with the chamber majority and promised an overhaul of the judiciary. The constitution also removed the monarch’s sacred status, though what that means in practice remains unclear. Passed with 98.5-percent approval on July 1, the constitution and the subsidies helped calm the reform movement to a degree and set the stage for the November 25 elections.
The elections themselves produced substantial gains for the moderate Islamist PJD, earning 100 of the possible 395 seats available. The results ensured that the new prime minister would be chosen from their party, but still required them to pursue a parliamentary coalition to govern. However, as welcome as the election results and constitutional reforms have been at home and abroad, it is far from clear how this year’s changes will impact the country’s economic and political futures, if at all.
Members of the country’s reform movement remain sceptical of Mohammed VI’s actions, suggesting that any changes that occurred were cosmetic and have kept ultimate authority in the hands of the palace. Indeed, despite the new constitution, issues pertaining to religion, security and the economy remain under the control of the king, making claims of real, substantial change difficult to support.
Furthermore, while a boycott on election participation by the February 20 movement was viewed as mostly a wash, the country’s low voter turnout (45 percent of registered voters) and even lower registration suggest that many in Morocco still feel the government has little authority to act beyond the reach of the monarchy.
“Few believe the new parliament will solve the many problems plaguing nearly 35 million Moroccans, where one in three young, urban males are unemployed and poverty is widespread,” noted Yale Associate Professor Ellen Lust in a Christian Science Monitor editorial.
Suggesting that the king’s actions amount to little more than window dressing, Shadi Hamid of The Atlantic argued that they were actually part of an effective, if not terribly sustainable strategy to calm the protest movement.
“Where Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya resorted to flagrantly rigged elections, monarchs in Jordan, Morocco, Bahrain, and Kuwait hold reasonably free polls and permit legal opposition,” he wrote. “It just so happens that these elections determine relatively little of real importance. Decision-making authority remains with the king and the cabinets that he appoints. These regimes have been able to create the illusion of reform even as they strengthened their grip on power.”
Inside the country, both the new constitution and election results were greeted by the February 20 movement with ambivalence, insisting that both were created and conducted by appointees of the king and did not warrant recognition. The movement pledged to continue demonstrating against the government.
Even if Mohammed VI’s promoted reforms come to be seen as valid, it remains to be seen how comfortable he will be in his newly reduced role or how far he is willing to bend to meet the demands of an increasingly organized and vocal reform movement.
Further complicating the monarch’s approach is a significant budget deficit brought on by reduced trade from the European Union and the costs of the king’s raised subsidies earlier this year. This deficit and a lack of the kind of oil and gas revenues that have allowed other monarchies in the region to continue to increase public spending, have left Morocco with few options other than finding new revenue streams or speeding the process of real political reform.
Despite the clear economic challenges facing both the monarchy and the new parliamentary leadership, the government has insisted it will be able to reduce the budget deficit in the first quarter of 2012, despite slower than expected growth among its main trading partners. According to a Reuters report, the government is aiming to cut its budget deficit to 4 percent of GDP even as it forecasts its growth rate slowing to 4.8 over the coming months.
Beyond regional trade and the country’s phosphate industry, Morocco has laid out several other projects meant to raise revenue over the coming year, including the announcement that sovereign wealth funds in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have pledged €2 billion towards supporting the country’s tourism industry.
Further, the country has set about changing its reputation as one largely free of oil and gas reserves by embracing less conventional energy endeavours, including new offshore projects and launching geological surveys of the country’s deep-set shale potential.
In November, the country’s Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM) began distributing literature at a hydrocarbon conference in South Africa, promoting 22 blocks available for exploration efforts, though it stopped short of announcing any formal rounds of bidding. Representatives of the ONHYM have promoted the geological similarities between the Moroccan coast and the oil-rich area off Nova Scotia, noting they likely stood next to each other millions of years ago as reason enough to promote the area’s hydrocarbon potential.
Vital to keeping the country moving forward and frustration under control while the new government takes shape, these revenue streams may just be the key to both keeping the king in place and the reform movement in motion.
http://iberosphere.com/2011/12/morocco-sets-path-for-reform-but-questions-of-impact-linger/4831
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I've always done my armchair traveling through cookbooks — whether it's Elizabeth David's Mediterranean, Fuschia Dunlop's Sichuan or Claudia Roden's Middle East. My copy of Paula Wolfert's original "Couscous & Other Good Food From Morocco"is stained and worn, with notes scribbled in the margins, marks of so many dinner parties through the years.
But so much changed since Wolfert published that book in 1973. Just think in terms of ingredients available now, such as argan oil, Moroccan cumin or real saffron. Her publisher urged her to revise the book, but Wolfert doesn't do anything by halves. She ended up rewriting and expanding it to more than 500 pages. In the process most recipes were tweaked, dozens more added and the book was renamed "The Food of Morocco."
I loved every dish, every tip and trick she offered. I actually made warka, the thin pastry leaves for a proper bestila (most people substitute filo) following a new and brilliantly easy technique she learned on Arabic YouTube. Basically, you paint the batter onto a nonstick skillet and when edges begin to curl, pick up the thin, transparent pastry leaf. And do it again. And again. The bestila itself is magnificent, especially the more savory Tétouan-style, brightened with preserved lemon.
I went into a frenzy of bread baking, turning out Marrakech tagine bread, Moroccan country bread, Middle Atlas flat bread and Tangier street bread on a daily basis. I still haven't located the super-fine semolina required for msemmen pancakes fried on a griddle and served with honey and butter, but that's next.
There are recipes for marvelous chicken and beef and lamb tagines — with prunes, with quince, with preserved lemon and green olives or smothered in tomato jam. And now that we have more real butchers in town, you should be able to find cuts like lamb shoulder more easily. She's got a brilliant array of those little cooked salads, too. And cookies, such as her double-baked anise ones to dip in tea and her impossibly delicious, crumbly semolina almond cookies, that I'll keep in my repertoire forever.
"The Foods of Morocco" by Paula Wolfert, Ecco Press, $45
— S. Irene Virbila
Lamb tagine with layered onions
Total time: About 3 hours, plus cooling times
Servings: 6
Note: Adapted from "The Food of Morocco" by Paula Wolfert. She writes, "This is the Fes version of a famous layered onion tagine called qamamma. I love the way the onions are cooked down to a melting unctuous sauce then combined with tomatoes or raisins and/or honey. With my recipe you do most of the work 1 or 2 days in advance. Then on the day you serve it, you assemble and bake the dish, then switch the oven to broil, dribble over some olive oil, and cook until the onions turn crusty and lightly charred." Cubeb pepper is available online; additional white and/or black pepper can be substituted.
La Kama spice mixture
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cubeb pepper (optional)
A good pinch of grated nutmeg
Mix the ground spices. Sift through a fine sieve and store in a closed jar in a cool, dark place. This makes a generous tablespoon of the spice mixture.
Saffron water
1/2 teaspoon crumbled saffron strands
1 cup hot water
In a warm (not hot) skillet, dry the saffron strands. Crush again, then soak in the hot water and store in a small jar in the refrigerator. This will keep for up to a week.
For longer storage (my favorite method), quadruple the recipe quantities above: pour the saffron water into a plastic ice cube tray and freeze into cubes. Once they are frozen, shake out the cubes and store in a freezer bag. Each cube will be equivalent to 2 tablespoons saffron water or a good pinch of dried saffron threads.
Tagine and assembly
3 pounds thick lamb shoulder arm chops, bone-in, cut into 9 or 10 pieces
Coarse salt
1 tablespoon La Kama Spice Mixture
2 tablespoons Saffron Water
1 tablespoon liquid honey, preferably a floral honey such as orange blossom, lavender or acacia
1 medium red onion, coarsely grated (1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 cups water
2 tablespoons clarified butter, divided
3 pounds onions, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup golden raisins, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes and drained
2 tablespoons turbinado or other raw sugar
1 teaspoon ground Ceylon cinnamon
3 pita or Indian naan breads
1 tablespoon chopped parsley for garnish
1. One or 2 days before you plan to serve, trim the lamb of excess fat. Place the meat in a medium flameproof casserole and add 1 teaspoon salt, the spice mixture, saffron water, honey, grated onion and 1 tablespoon of the oil. Stir over low heat until the aroma of the spices is released, about 5 minutes: Do not brown the meat. Add the water, bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 2 1/2 hours, or until the meat is almost falling off the bone.
2. Separate the cooking juices and the meat. When the meat is cool enough to handle, pull out and discard the bones and trim off any fat or gristle. Cut the meat into 1-inch chunks and transfer to a storage bowl; you should have about 4 cups of meat. Degrease the cooking juices. Return the cooking juices to the casserole and boil down to a glaze. Add one-half teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon of the butter, the sliced onions and cinnamon stick; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and golden, about 45 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the onions to a storage dish. Discard the cinnamon stick. Boil down the liquid in the casserole to about three-fourths cup. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat, then add the liquid to the meat. Up to this point the recipe can be prepared up to 2 days in advance. Cool, cover and refrigerate the meat and onions.
3. About an hour before serving, set an oven rack on the middle shelf of the oven. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
4. Grease an ovenproof tagine or shallow baking serving dish with remaining butter. Spread the meat on the bottom and cover with the cooked onions and raisins. Scatter the sugar and ground cinnamon on top. Place in the oven and bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes. Switch the oven heat to broil, dribble over the remaining tablespoon of oil, and cook until crusty and lightly charred, about 5 minutes.
5. Reheat the bread in the oven for a few minutes. Split in half, then tear each half into 2 or 3 pieces. Spread about one third over a large serving platter. Spoon about half of the contents of the tagine on top. Repeat with another third of the bread and the remaining contents of the tagine. Top with the last pieces of the bread and a sprinkling of parsley and serve at once.
Each serving: 705 calories; 40 grams protein; 60 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams fiber; 34 grams fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 138 mg cholesterol; 27 grams sugar; 860 mg sodium.
http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-food-of-morocco-20111208,0,899221,full.story ##########################################################
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