DAR TALIBA GIRLS RECEIVE A NEW EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE AND A SPECIAL VISITOR!

By Pommelien da Silva Cosme. Photos by Ibtissam Bouseta.

9th September 2021

While the girls at the Dar Taliba boarding house will not return to school until 1st October, we have a lot of exciting updates to share since our last report.

During the months of May and June, we continued our garden training programme at the Dar Taliba school garden with local partner Moroccan Biodiversity & Livelihoods Association. Through practical trainings, the girls learned about pest control and plant health by preparing an organic pesticide with baking soda and black soap. We also held a workshop on the commercialisation of medicinal and aromatic plants, which is an important source of income for local communities in the High Atlas. During this session, the girls were introduced to ways to valorise and transform local plants into marketable products, such as essential oils, herbal teas, soaps and other cosmetic products.

Traditional Amazigh dish Tagula o’Asengar (corn porridge)

Do you remember the educational manual we mentioned back in January? We are happy to share that we produced the final result “Biodiversity: in the Moroccan High Atlas and the World” and printed 500 copies for current and future students at Dar Taliba. The manual includes 5 chapters (Biodiversity hotspots, Climate Change, Threats to biodiversity, Plastic pollution and Sustainable development goals), and will serve as a great tool for students to increase their awareness on local biodiversity and ways to support its conservation. In addition, this resource can also be used by teachers to inform their lesson plans.

Distribution of environmental education manuals

While we are impatiently waiting for the girls to start school again, we designed and installed two educational displays in the school garden that showcase local fauna and flora and inform students as well as visitors on local biodiversity (see photo below).

We are grateful for the support of our GlobalGiving donors, which allows us to continue growing our school garden and to offer an environmental education programme for the Dar Taliba girls.

Until our next report, you can follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more updates about new activities at the Dar Taliba school garden and the students.

First published as a project report for the Benefit 700 Moroccan girls through school gardens campaign on GlobalGiving.