Close to M’ssici is the small farm owned by the Bouaid family. Set back from the road a couple of hundred meters or so, accessed by a rough dirt track.
Here the family eke out a living from the unforgiving desert. A couple of goats and sheep, half a dozen chickens running around freely. Part of the land tilled by hand to grow vegetables and feed for the animals, irrigated with the meagre supply of water pumped from deep below the surface.
It is here that we had one of our most humbling and memorable experiences meeting some of the most genuine people in Morocco
Diversification
To supplement the family income they have created a space for a few campers, a short distance away from the family farm. A rough mud wall surrounds a small area where you can park. There is a reception room, toilet/shower and a “berber tent” within the wall. It’s all very basic, but it is functional, and full of rustic charm.
The lady of the house cycled over from the farm when she saw us to greet us. Somehow ageless, hands and fingernails stained with henna, rough from all the hard work.
She speaks only Berber, but somehow we manage to communicate. We only want somewhere to rest, but she insists on escorting us to the house, after proudly showing us around the farm, for the welcome mint tea of hospitality.
Home Life
Inside the house is spartan. The walls are bare, there are a couple of rugs on the floor and a typical low seat with small table. That’s it. She makes the tea and serves it with nuts and wafers.
Conversation is difficult because of the language barrier, but the ladies find common ground and manage to “chat” about the children. She has 5 sons, most of whom have moved out now.
Breakfast
After a very peaceful night we are getting ready to leave when there is a gentle knock on the door. It’s her youngest son. A little misunderstanding, we think they’re here to say goodbye, so we say we’ll be about 30 minutes and then be on our way.
When we’re ready to leave we go to say goodbye, and that’s when we realised that they had brought us breakfast, mint tea and pizza Berber. They had sat and waited patiently for us the whole time!
A Lasting Memory
A truly humbling experience. A world apart from the material existence we are so used to and take for granted. Far removed from the tourist Morocco. Such genuinely lovely people, successfully raising a lovely family despite the hardships, remaining so positive and cheerful. Living with so little, but so rich in their own way.
And the price? Pay what you think is the right amount! The experience? Priceless.
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