Ouarzazate, Day 2

Started the day with a typical thing for OAT tours, called "a day in the life". We visited a family in a small rural village where we"helped" feed alfalfa to their donkeys, leaned how to cut alfalfa by hand, make adobe bricks, etc. The man of the family has managed to buy an electric mill, so now he has a little wheat milling business to grind floor and couscous. Delicious couscous lunch--couscous made from fresh ground couscous and cooked "properly" is completely different from the from-the-box stuff we get at home.

Then to the Imik Simik Women’s Association for Rural Development. This organization was started by women to help women learn to be independent and support each other in a rural, very male-dominated culture. They run a baking business that (now) supplies pastries to the town, as well as some other ventures. Very inspiring to meet them and see what they're doing. A few women started the association themselves. It's now 42 women, and recieves some financial support from the Grand Circle Foundation which helped them buy some land and build a building that houses their workshops and a tea/coffee house.

Had a little time on our own so went to "The Old Synogogue". It purports to be a family-run museum, but it's closer to a random collection of stuff that ought to be curated, organized, and protected (like the Torah that was just sitting on a shelf). The synogogue itself is 400 years old, but was abandoned except by one family when most Moroccan Jews moved to Israel.

And then a visit to a Moroccan herbalist. Interesting, and we'll see if the black seed oil he recommended for age-related, thin skin bruises helps.