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In Taragalt Association for Development and Volunteering and Cultural Exchange we know how important holidays are, that is why we have prepared a different summer for you, where you have the possibility to help, discover a different culture,
Live new experiences, and endless things more ...... For this reason, Taragalt Association for Development and Volunteering and Cultural Exchange offers the opportunity to enjoy a great experience. We will work with children to whom we will teach languages and help them improve the conditions of their schools. Apart from this volunteer work you will learn the Moroccan language and culture, knowing the most interesting places. The activities to be carried out are simple, the only essential thing is the desire to help; the children appreciate any activity of any kind; either musical, sports, language, painting or even general education. With varied activities from those of painting on the wall, to workshops with children, whether they are storytelling with mimicry, leaf painting, cut-outs, costumes, gymkhana, etc ... even the most educational, such as locating city on a map or learning simple sentences in different languages, the children of the area enjoy, while they learn without realizing it. Interdisciplinarity and communication, as well as immersion in other cultures is the main
objective of these camps that will be productive for both, monitors and children, in all senses.
A positive experience, endorsed by participants of previous editions.
Weather :
Ouarzazate has a desert climate, winters are cold, temperatures drop to 12 degrees below zero, with large differences between day and night. The best temperatures are in spring and autumn with an average of 25 degrees. The summers are warm. July and August are the hottest months with a temperature of around 40 degrees during the day. The evenings and summer nights are quite pleasant. The weather can change in a very short period. In two weeks you can change the climate around zero degrees with snow at 25 degrees with sunshine.
Islam:
Islam dominates the way of life. Five times a day you can hear the call of the mosques when it is time for prayer. People pray in mosques, but it is also common to pray in any other place, as long as there is clean soil if there is not, people use small rugs to pray. You can find people praying in the souk, at the bus station or just in the street. Friday afternoon is reserved for spending the day in the mosques, or dedicating time to God in another place. For Moroccan people, it is forbidden to drink alcohol, eat pork or have sex outside of marriage. For all tourists, this type of behavior is tolerated. You will never see people showing their love in public places, for example, kissing or hugging in the street is not done. It is even advisable for a man and a woman, not to go down the street holding hands in public, whether they are married or not.
The people and culture:
The Ouarzazate region is a cultural and linguistic mosaic. Each tribe, each valley, each village has its own unique characteristics, identifiable by its music, architecture and its customs. The ethnic diversity is considerable with many races and colors: native to the Arabian Peninsula, mixes with the Berber Men dress more or less the same, with undetectable regional nuances for the unaccustomed eye. The costumes and hairstyles of women and their living conditions differ from one place to another within the province and from one tribe to another. Each region and each tribe have their own dialect. The members of the tribe are recognizable by their language and accent and each tribe has a rich and varied oral and poetic tradition.
Foreign travelers, Transportation:
Traveling in Morocco is safe. You can reach almost every city by bus. CTM is the safest and most comfortable company. However, there are many other companies. The buses of most of these companies do not have air conditioning and do not have the strict schedule. They leave when the bus is full.
They may stop for a long time on the road for a break or fill the bus with new travelers. For short distances from one city to another, you can also take a "big taxi". A large taxi is a taxi in which a maximum of 6 people (excluding the driver) are transported.
The prices are fixed by taxi and according to the distance. The large taxis are faster than buses and leave when there are enough travelers. The big cities in the north of Morocco are connected by rail. Royal Air Maroc has an extensive internal network of Casablanca to many other cities.
There is also an air service to Ouarzazate. Within the cities, the main method of transportation is the use of petit taxi. The petit taxis, in Ouarzazate, are small cars in which there is room for 3 travelers. You set prices per person and you pay according to the distance. As in any other country, be aware of pick pocket, especially in large cities and crowded places.
More annoying are the "guides" who want to show you the city or the way to the hope of earning some money. It is very difficult to deal with most of them, the best way is to say politely that you already have a guide or that you have lived or worked in the city and know the place very well. Never show that you are lost. When you do not know the way, do not hesitate and keep walking until you find a reliable person, for example, another tourist, a policeman or a woman.
In Ouarzazate you will not be overwhelmed, by the guides, as much as in the big cities. Women who travel alone will see that many men try to approach them, most of these men are not married and hope to find a foreign girlfriend.
Most of them do not admit that they are looking for a relationship with a foreign woman. Instead, they will say that what they want is to have a friendship, that they want to improve their English or that they just want to show him the city.
The best way to avoid this is to say that you appreciate her kindness, but that she can not accept your offer out of respect for her husband. You will be more convincing if you use a ring or a photo in your man's pocket. When it is lost, do not approach a man to ask for the way. It is better to ask another woman. When traveling through Morocco, be sure to bring decent clothes. Women should not wear skirts or shorts that are above the knees. Also, women should not wear sleeveless shirts or show the belly.
For men, the rule is to not show too much of their body is to say that they should not walk on the street without a shirt.
The term :
The work camps are organized mainly in the summer months. However, solidarity trips exist throughout the year.
Trip :
The travel charges will be the responsibility of the volunteer until arriving at the place of arrival where the work fields will be made, as well as the personal expenses.
Expenses :
The participation costs are 200 Euros, that includes the accommodation, the meals, the material for the activities, the painting for the school and other expenses considered external ...
Excursions:
The association organizes excursions on weekends so that all volunteers can discover the beauty of the country and learn a little more about their culture. Two trips will be made, one of them to the desert of dunes of Merzoga and the next to the gorge of Dades and Toudgha.
Insurance :
Each volunteer must bring their travel insurance for the entire program, so they must take care of obtaining it in their country.
Accommodation :
Volunteers will stay in a public school or house, where they will live for the entire period of the program, which is an advantage to share daily life with other foreigners from other countries, discover their culture and share time with them in the fields.
The introductory days:
The first two days of the field of work will be introductory. The association will inform about the established program clarifying the objectives to all the volunteers. They also serve as a rapprochement between volunteers so that they can get to know each other, visit the city and the surroundings.
The Association Innovative Generation for Development and Volunteering tries to facilitate the tasks of organization to the volunteers. The members of the association organize a reception (PICK-UP) one day before the start of work, all day until 5pm. Book the bus tickets in advance to travel together.
The reception is organized only at the airports of Casablanca or Marrakech.
The association will send volunteers an email informing of this possibility, waiting to be answered with the needs of each one of the volunteers. For those who do not arrive at the indicated time, our team can answer all the necessary information to easily reach the town and meet with the group.
N.B: delays in flights must be taken into account.
Free time :
Throughout the camp and outside working hours volunteers will have free time to discover the city, some shopping in the souk or strolling at night, as well as different games and activities that are raised among all volunteers to make fun life in community.
Moroccan culture courses:
If you are interested in the Moroccan Arabic language, the association has a local teacher to give courses to the volunteers with a diverse and adapted program throughout the stay that allows you to learn more about Moroccan culture and music. Moroccan cooking classes are also organized.
N.B: - Two classes per week one culture and the other kitchen.
- The course is included in the participation costs.
To consider :
• The last day of the project is not exactly the last day of work.
• In the event that volunteers can not attend the full term, they must
communicate it at the time of registration.
• The association thanks the volunteers who can provide additional material for
activities, schools in the region do not have sufficient means
economic or have a large inventory.
