Rural Women Achieve Lofty Goals in Morocco

In rural Morocco, the MEPI-funded small grants program is helping local women live out their dreams.

One such woman, Fatma Rouhi, who never went to school, is now president of a local cooperative.  Through the assistance of a MEPI grant to the Association of the DRA Valley, or ADEDRA, she and other women like here are contributing in meaningful ways to the development of her villages.

The Moroccan Dra or Drâa Valley covers an area of roughly 600 km in the southern part of the country, between Zagora and Tan-Tan near the Atlantic Ocean.  Surrounded by lush oases and palm trees, it offers a good base for exploration of the Sahara, less than 20 miles away, and serves as the home of the Dra Valley Women’s Cooperative.

Spurred on by the challenges of rough living conditions and with an incredible will to succeed, Rouhi, now president of this cooperative, realized early on that she needed more education to achieve her goals.  After joining a women’s association, she took part in the ADEDRA program, called “Reinforcement of the Capacities of Female Associations of the Dra Valley.”

These three-day training courses provide women with a variety of skills and professional tools, such as basic financial accounting, administrative techniques, conflict management, and strategic planning.  The ADEDRA project also enables women to share their experiences and build a network of like-minded participants trying to bring about positive changes to the region.

With the aid of these capacity building courses, Rouhi has been working to alleviate poverty and underdevelopment in her village.  The primary goal of her association is to raise funds to help generate income for the local poor in the community.

Today, as president, Rouhi is even more engaged and excited about her role in the association than when she first joined.  She hopes to continue sharing her experiences and skills with other women looking for support to overcome personal barriers and achieve their own dreams.

Meanwhile, ADEDRA plans to continue supporting associations and cooperative groups, like the one run by Rouhi, in an effort to develop synergies among all the various stakeholders in the Dra Valley.