In the High Atlas of Morocco lies, far from the urban hustle, a village of clay and stone that barely blends into the landscape. This carefully planned village is located above the tree line, in places with few rock avalanches, while the steep terraces with barley fields lie just above the spring floodwater.
The Berber-speaking Muslims who live and work here maintain a long tradition of collective management of land, labor, and resources. During the dry season, they irrigate the fields together to make life possible in this harsh environment.
Study by David Crawford
In Moroccan Households in the World Economy David Crawford examines the daily ways of life and the relationships within the village and with the national economy. He describes how cooperation between households through a system, the so-called "arranging the bones," balances inequality over time. Children are obligated to return labor to parents and grandparents, and fathers determine where children work, sometimes even for distant religious institutions or urban family members.
Many residents temporarily migrate to cities to work as wage laborers and send money home. At the same time, government officials, development workers, and commercial interests visit the village, each with their own agendas and a different sense of time.
Application and relevance
- This work provides insight into the social and economic structures of Moroccan mountain villages.
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This insightful ethnography challenges Western economic assumptions and takes the reader into a fascinating world of smoky kitchens, earthen floors, and communal meals on the roof.