Dar Si Hmad May 2021 Highlights

It’s already mid-June, and you are wondering if Dar Si Hmad keeps any highlights from the previous month? Yes, of course it does! 

The following events stood out of our NGO’s usual activities:

• ‘Le jardin vert’: a gardening program Dar Si Hmad launched at Moulay Driss High School in Sidi Ifni. This initiative aims at educating the high schoolers about the importance of maintaining their school environment through the integration of the students in the gardening activities of the school-yard spaces. The larger goal is ecological education and teaching young pupils to develop their sense of volunteering and civic engagement.

• A young ambitious couple, the founders of IZIProtéine startup in Agadir, came to our premises to pitch their project in front of Dar Si Hmad staff. A future collaboration with IZIProtéine is under study. The biofertilizers they produce can be of a great added value to the soil of Agdal Id Aachour pedagogical farm and the farmer-communities that DSH has the pleasure to work with.

• 3 sessions from the ECO Mill edition of the RISE program were organized throughout May 2021. PROTOTYPING, TESTING and  PITCHING modules were covered in three consecutive weekends by amazing and generous coaches. The closing ceremony of this program was held on the 12th of June, come see it next month and in the meantime do check our social media pages to see the pictures from the event.

• The preparations for this year’s Summer Tech Camp were another highlight of May 2021. This year’s edition was made possible by a supporting grant from the British Council.  And TERN – The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network, based in England is our partner. This program goes under the auspices of the ‘Leadership for Gender Equality’ program of the British Council .

• At the end of the month, 6 student-groups from the Business Department of the Ait Melloul Campus, Ibn Zohr University, paid us a visit at Dar Si Hmad’s office as they expressed their interest in discovering our NGO and its project management models when their teacher Dr. Affaf Amrani, a DSH friend and volunteer, spoke about civic engagement. Our staff was pleased to welcome and respond to the questions of the ambitious and budding students.

Follow @darsihmad on Twitter and Instagram, and Dar Si Hmad for Development, Education and Culture on Facebook and LinkedIn and stay updated about our everyday accomplishments!

The UN 2020 Water and Climate Change report summary - Chapter 13: Technological Innovation and Citizen Knowledge

The thirteenth chapter of the UN 2020 Water and Climate Change report highlights the importance of advancing technological innovation and citizen knowledge to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

The report points to six aspects of science, technology, and innovation that are rapidly evolving: “i) overall assessment and monitoring of water resources and hydrological processes; ii) conservation, recovery and reuse of water resources; iii) adaptation of infrastructures; iv) cost reduction in treatment and distribution processes; v) efficiency of water supply delivery and use; and vi) access to safe drinking water and sanitation.”

Some of these innovations include earth observation, advanced sensor technologies, and information and communication technologies. Earth observation from satellite-based space technologies are able to collect data on weather, climate, and the evolution of water resources around the world. Remote sensing conducted through these satellites can track larger evolutions such as land use change that traditional technology cannot observe. Advanced sensor technologies provide online and real-time monitoring of water availability and quality, which can inform smart water management. This technology can, for example, detect chemical leakages and inform adequate responses. Information and communication technologies include storing data on a shared cloud, artificial intelligence, big data, machine learning, and the internet of things, which are every-day objects connected to the internet (e.g. a water meter with sensors to detect water consumption). Such technologies improve the analysis and interpretation of existing data. The report states that the internet of things can be particularly useful in rural areas, who otherwise have limited means to collect data.

These technological innovations are notable, but they need to be better integrated in decision-making practices. Currently, there is a science-policy gap due to the limited political will and financial and human resources to process, analyze, and present how data can be understood and used by decision makers. 

While decision makers take their time to fill the science-policy gap, the public have options to empower themselves in Free Open Source Software (FOSS) and voluntary action. In countries where accessing such innovative technology is costly, FOSS is a cheap and increasingly popular technology. FOSS allows for users to crowdsource and share relevant data, which can, for example, contribute to early warning systems and validate flood forecasting models. Access to FOSS can empower even the most marginalized populations, including youth, women, the poor, and those in rural areas. Additionally, voluntary action that increases awareness also increases citizen action. There are, for example, climate change guidebooks that promote citizen participation and citizen science projects. An example of this is EarthWatch’s ‘FreshWater Watch,’ which engages the communities it serves to gather samples of freshwater for those samples to be analyzed for quality, pollution, and wildlife. 

The chapter concludes by stressing the importance of science, decision-making, and public participation in creating the most effective and informed mitigation and adaptation measures. 

Written by: Gari DeRamros, Dar Si Hmad's former intern

Dar Si Hmad April 2021 Highlights

 Our micro-projects have occupied most of our time this past month. In addition to our ongoing rural developmental projects in Ait Baamran, our urban-based educational programs have all been running simultaneously in April. Find below DSH’s highlights from April 2021:

On Saturday the 10th, a new edition of the RISE program was launched. This term called ECO Mill: from IDEAS to STARTUPS, is a training on green entrepreneurship designed by Dar Si Hmad in partnership with the Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences of Ibn Zohr University. Benefiting primarily the Faculty students but also other students attending other Agadir-based faculties and Institutes. Two modules have been so far covered, and if you would like to know what they consisted of, stay tuned for our upcoming blog article!

In the same context of developing the students’ entrepreneurial skills, Dar Si Hmad’ Executive Director, Dr. Jamila Bargach attended the inauguration of the Faculty’s new Career Center, a space dedicated to entrepreneurship for the students of the Faculty, training in the Humanities is an asset to discover in the world of entrepreneurship.

At Dar Si Hmad, we’ve also been actively preparing for this year’s Summer Tech Camp to benefit 3 groups of rural girl high schoolers in Sidi Ifni. This new edition will be organized in partnership with the UK organization TERN – The Entrepreneurial Refugees Network, and it is funded by the British Council in the framework of its ‘Leadership for Gender Equality’ program. 

GRACE – Girls Read and Communicate in English- program is another educational program to have run this last month. On Friday, 30th , its closing ceremony was organized in Moulay Idriss High School, with the participation of the beneficiaries’ instructor, Ms. Elyssa Wrubel, online and directly from the United States. 

Regarding our developmental rural projects, Dar Si Hmad’s Office manager, Miss Samira Arjdal, was invited on the 5th of April, to participate as a panelist in the ALINOV Webinar on Green Entrepreneurship organized by MEDAFCO-Development. In this online event, Samira talked about our organization’s experiences in the fields of agroecology and water management. To check the recordings of the two panels that she was part of, click on these hyperlinks: Panel on Agroecology & Panel on Water Management.

In the field,  the construction bricks for our indigenous seed-bank were delivered to our Agdal Id Aachour Pedagogical farm. Please make a donation through the GobalGiving platform to contribute to ecological initiatives! 

Finally, Mr. Mustapha Ouafegha, the project coordinator of Afous Ghissiki, training in Agroecology, has successfully completed the Marrakesh Organics Permaculture Design Course, which will enable him to share more updated knowledge in the field with the beneficiaries of the oases of Tighmert and Ouggoug.

Keep on following us on our social media platforms to receive more updates on our diverse projects!

Dar Si Hmad March 2021 Highlights

You will be hearing from us all over this April as we have been at work, relentlessly, last month! 

Allow us to get you a tour of the highlights of March 2021!

As part of our fog harvesting project extension in Taloust, the foundations for a water cistern were implanted  by the provincial directory of agriculture in Id Bighiden village.

A new experimental Cloudfisher was installed on top of Tabtist Mountain.  This spot is believed to have a high potential for fog harvesting.

Our office Manager, Ms. Samira Arjdal, the fog project’s manager, Mr. Mounir Abbar, and our two rural project coordinators, Mr. Mohamed Hammou-Ali and Mr. Hussein Soussane organized a visit to ZINCO company in Fez to benefit from a training on prepaid meters we will be utilizing henceforth to connect more households to our fog harvesting system.

 

Mr. Hicham Aoumat, from the company Green Solutions paid  a visit to our fog harvesting system to study the possibility of automating the water distribution network.

The members of the Tiznit Association of the Technicians of the Building Sector organized a field trip to the fog harvesting site.

Organic harvest is already being produced in Agdal Id Achour Pedagogical Farm, and the plan to construct Dar Si Hmad’s indigenous seeds bank is ongoing!

A beneficiary of Afous Ghissiki’s agroecology training is also witnessing promising results from the application of the techniques he learned  the previous months. In fact, he has already started commercializing his organic harvest which generates  a decent income for the start.

In addition, GRACE program online sessions with our intern Elyssa Wrubel were continuing in March.

And the preparations for the RISE program that we launched last Saturday were developing quickly.

And finally, a small surprise birthday party was organized at Dar Si Hmad office to celebrate our administration and finances manager, Ms. Khadija Changa’s birthday, early on the last Friday of the month.

For more details on Dar Si Hmad’s projects and activities, follow us on our social media pages!

RISE Eco Mill 2021: Building the Mill

            

from left to right: Mr.Jack Carew, DSH's volunteerand CELAR student, Ms. Salwa El Haouti, DSH's communications officer, and Ms. Samira Arjdal, DSH's office manager. And in the chat room, Ms. Khadija Amahal, RISE program coordinator

           Since the successful closing of RISE ECO-AYA (Ecological Advocacy Youth Action) last month, the RISE team has been working diligently to execute the next RISE iteration, RISE Eco Mill, scheduled to begin this Saturday, April 10. This iteration of the program will continue RISE’s central mandate of promoting environmental activism and awareness in the Souss Massa region, while centering a special focus on entrepreneurship and startup development.

Furthermore, RISE Eco Mill is situated squarely within the mission of Dar Si Hmad, and furthers our commitment to the empowerment of young people and protection of the environment of southern Morocco. After significant deliberation, the RISE team landed on Eco Mill as the most appropriate theme for this iteration of RISE. This new edition of RISE that specifically focuses on environmental issues and youth entrepreneurship will lead to the realization of the Dar Si Hmad’s goals, and create outsize impact in the Souss Massa region.

As RISE is committed to creating equitable opportunities for participation, our team members travelled to a number of universities and organizations in the greater Agadir area in order to deliver detailed presentations about RISE Eco Mill and distribute application information. Beyond simply recruiting participants in the RISE program, these conversations served to spread awareness of Dar Si Hmad’s activities in the region and opportunities for environmental activism. In addition to live presentations, the RISE team distributed informational materials, including a technical data sheet, physically to numerous local universities and digitally via social media. Our outreach yielded myriad applicants possessing diverse backgrounds in physical and social sciences, humanities, and business. The RISE team completed interviewing the applicants and making their final selections over the past week. RISE Eco Mill beneficiaries represent a diverse group of bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral students, as well as recent graduates, with wide-ranging ideas and issues that they intend to address. 

The program will consist of a series of trainings by Moroccan academics, community leaders, and business professionals concerning environmental issues in the region and best practices for startup business development. These environmental leaders are graciously volunteering their time to lead informative workshops. After identifying the most pressing environmental challenges, RISE beneficiaries will synthesize skills from the various workshops to develop their own enterprises presenting solutions to these challenges. Our beneficiaries will transform gaps in environmental action into opportunities for private industry, and support further youth engagement with environmental issues. 

At the close of RISE Eco Mill, beneficiaries will pitch their entrepreneurial ideas to a panel of judges. Beyond serving as an opportunity to practice their public speaking skills, the pitch session serves as a model of a common task that the young entrepreneurs participating in RISE will practice throughout their business careers. Each pitch will receive live feedback from the various judges, each an expert in their respective environmental field. 

Ultimately, RISE Eco Mill beneficiaries will implement the information and skills they gain over the coming months into their own projects addressing the most pressing environmental issues in the region. The implementation phase is critical, as Dar Si Hmad believes that students learn the most as they apply the learnings from each training in a hands-on fashion. While the projects may not be realized until months or years into the future, our beneficiaries will have the tools to successfully design and carry out their own meaningful environmental solution after completing RISE Eco Mill.

Written by: Jack Carew, Dar Si Hmad's volunteer and CELAR student

Dar Si Hmad February 2021 Highlights

It’s already mid-March, and you are wondering if Dar Si Hmad keeps any highlights from the previous month? Yes, of course it does! 

Besides the NGO’s everyday work on the fog harvesting project and its extension in Taloust, the work on our pedagogical farm, the creation of the indigenous seeds bank, the follow-up and support to the beneficiaries of Afous Ghissiki agroecology training, and the many micro-projects it had designed to benefit students and youth on a personal, an academic and a professional level, the following events stood out of our usual endeavor:

• The finals of RISE program Fall 2020 Edition. This latter was entitled ECO-AYA, which stands for Ecological Advocacy Youth Action. The training was two months long, and was all held online, except for the finals and closing ceremony that were organized in the premises of Dar Si Hmad. The performance of the finalists was satisfactory, and the title of ECO-AYA ambassador was granted to Jaouad Lougouail, who advocated for reducing the use of plastic in Souss Massa region.

• DSH’s CELAR students made us a Tagine! Learning the names of veggies in Darija is essential to live and shop in the Moroccan Souks, that’s why in Dar Si Hmad’s language center we always privilege hands-on learning methods. The two fulbrighters taking Darija, Tashelhiit and Classical Arabic lessons in CELAR cooked a delicious Soussi Tagine and a Moroccan salad for the office’s staff last month. 

• A training on the geographic information systems. DSH’s office Manager, Ms. Samira Arjdal, and our fog harvesting project manager, Mr. Mounir Abbar, benefited in February from the aforementioned training that was provided to them by the geography researcher and PhD candidate, University of Cadi Ayyad,  Mr. Youssef Bammou. The mastery of the Geographic Information System is crucial for the development of our rural projects.

• We have a new drawing hung in the office! You surely recall Ms. Soukaina Boukerdi, our graphist guest from L’3mART, the event in which we celebrated Id Yennayer, the new amazigh year. The drawing of the musician Rais Lhaj Belaid that she brought us for the occasion, now makes part of our office’s decor.

Would you like to learn more about Dar Si Hmad’s highlights of each month before the month is over, follow us on our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn pages!

Dar Si Hmad January 2021 Highlights

Should you have guessed that l’3mART n’Id Yennayer is what made the highlight of Dar Si Hmad in January 2021, then you are right!! In addition to this inspiring celebration, other events took place this January in DSH and find them below.

You’re out of the loop? No worries! read through this article to get all the information!

    

So, let us start with this special event that took place in Dar Si Hmad at the beginning of January. We named it L’3mART, an Amazigh word that signifies “presence, assembly, charisma or company.” A two-day webinar discussing the history and the symbolism of the new Amazigh Year celebration  called Id Yennayer by North Africans. The event included also a culinary component, performance by some artists; everyone enriching this event in a special way.

Watching the recording of these insightful webinars is like a door leading to an inspiring cultural celebration. Click on the following hyperlinks to take you straight to them!

Day 1 Webinar   - Day 2 Webinar

Before the diffusion of L’3mART, Dr. Jamila Bargach, the E.D of Dar Si Hmad, signed a partnership with a third space named Espace Hashtag, to introduce our organization to their followers in a live video on Instagram. Espace Hahstag is an open space that welcomes and encourages young people to meet the space’s mission of  promoting entrepreneurship, engage in social economy, and create networking possibilities for its members -- and of course all of it in a fun and friendly atmosphere. 

The live idea was part of the communications plans of Espace Hashtag to have also celebrated L’3mART distantly with us from their center. But that wasn’t the only thing; on its end Dar Si Hmad released 8 videos with powerful Amazigh sayings that prepared the ground for the upcoming webinar’s theme. To watch them, check our Youtube Playlist entitled L’3mART !

Much logistical planning was  going on behind the scenes to make this event successful.

Enough talking now about L’3mART and let us tell you about the other highlights of January 2020 as we got back into the swing of things!

Again, Dar Si Hmad has welcomed a new employee to the organization. Leo, who's very special and resembles none of the staff. It is a German shepherd to be the guardian of our pedagogical farm and all the precious organic goods that grow on it. Unlike its fellow humans, Leo doesn’t need to learn the ropes, he came fully prepared for his new job position.

Two students and volunteers also joined Dar Si Hmad this month. Their names are Delana Sobhani and Jack Carew. They are studying Darija, Classical Arabic and Tamazight through our CELAR program, but also delivering English language lessons to our staff. Delana and Jack are offering these volunteering hours during their research period that is part of the US Fulbright program.

And finally come the in-person meetings with different state institutions to better serve our developmental and educational services, projects and programs.

On the 6th of January, a meeting was held at the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Education of Agadir Ida Outanane Province. Dr. Jamila Bargach and Dar Si Hmad’s office manager Samira Arjdal discussed the terms of the partnership agreement to be held between the two parties in the near future. The core of which is developing educational programs for the benefit of middle school and high school students in the province.

On the 6th of January, a meeting was held at the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Education of Agadir Ida Outanane Province. Dr. Jamila Bargach and Dar Si Hmad’s office manager Samira Arjdal discussed the terms of the partnership agreement to be held between the two parties in the near future. The core of which is developing educational programs for the benefit of middle school and high school students in the province.

And our all-time projects continue despite all the unusual conditions relating to the pandemic.

The fog harvesting project

Botany tests in Foundation Si Hmad Derhem for Agdal Id-Aachour Pedagogical Farm

 Grace Online English language lessons