El Kasbah: a Moroccan Village Facing Climate Change and Social Breakdown

by Rim Touaghed

El Kasbah is one of the towns inhabited by the Beni Yazgha tribe, located within the El Menzel District of Sefrou Province in the Fez-Meknes region of northern Morocco. Geographically, it lies to the east of the Middle Atlas Mountain range, in a semi-arid zone. This village has been home to approximately 400 Arabized Berber families for centuries. The community follows moderate Islam, maintaining a close connection to traditional values and practices. 

El Kasbah was connected to the electricity grid in 1978 and gained access to potable water around 15 years ago. A paved road, stretching 5 kilometers, links the village to the town of El Menzel. El Kasbah has two mosques and a primary school that was established in 1958. Most of the youth serve in the military, while a few hold other public service jobs.

When nature was generous

In its earlier years, El Kasbah was known for its abundance of natural resources. Rain and snowfall were plentiful, starting in early autumn and lasting through late spring. This abundance enabled thriving rain-fed agriculture, with autumn and spring yielding crops such as grains, legumes, vegetables, and cactus. Irrigated orchard cultivation was common, producing a variety of fruits, vegetables, and hemp.These were small-scale, subsistence farms, managed with family labor and natural fertilizers, and supported by the cooperation of village residents in tasks such as plowing, harvesting, and threshing. Livestock farming was integral to village life, with grazing grounds in the nearby forests. Cow herding was a communal responsibility, with shepherds taking turns to tend to the cattle. Women played an important role in raising poultry, birds, and rabbits near their homes, while men engaged in beekeeping. Surrounded by Mediterranean forests, the village was once a haven of biodiversity. A variety of trees, shrubs, and aromatic plants flourished, providing habitats for a wide range of wildlife, including birds, reptiles, insects, and predatory animals such as wolves, hyenas, and foxes.

El Kasbah Village

Villagers practicing the "matha" ritual to ask for rain

Climate change: the silent killer

Over the past six years, Morocco has faced severe droughts, marked by reduced rainfall and unprecedented increases in temperature. The impact of climate change has been exacerbated by human activities, such as over-exploitation of water resources, leading to the depletion of springs and wells. Water from the nearby Sebu River is now diverted to major cities and western plains, triggering a crisis of thirst for both people and livestock. The effects of climate change are devastating. Some animal and plant species once central to the village's subsistence are now extinct in the area. Forests have been ravaged by fires, leading to the destruction of pastures. Agricultural production has drastically declined, pushing up food and fodder prices amidst financial inflation. 

With the rise of globalization and changing consumer habits, the traditional way of life has been replaced. In response locally to unemployment and declining incomes, many villagers have resorted to cutting down the remaining forests, selling birds, and collecting medicinal and aromatic herbs, further depleting natural resources, and preventing ecosystem renewal.

The inhabitants were transformed into celestial beings

"It is not just the crops that dry up and wither, it is my heart that dries up. And it is not just the cows that grow thinner and die; it's my soul that gradually perish."Those are the words of an elderly man from El Kasbah, expressing the despair felt by many residents. The villagers rely only on Allah and his Saints. They scan the sky for rain clouds every day. But the reddish horizon at sunset brings no promise of relief. This is an experience that they inherited from their ancestors. They raise their hands and eyes to the sky tirelessly. They pray for rain believing that drought is a divine punishment for sin and transgressions. 

In an attempt to intercede, they perform the pagan Matha ritual, involving young children in the hopes that their innocence will appeal to Allah's mercy. They prepare a communal meal at the shrine of Sidi Abdellah, offering a black goat a sacrifice and praying for rain. They ask Allah to have mercy on them out of consideration of children and mute livestock. Despite their efforts, the heavens remains closed. The past six agricultural seasons have been cursed with drought leading the villagers to believe that it is a divine curse and may be a sign of doomsday! This spiritual torment mirrors the physical devastation of the land. As the farmer watches his tree, livestock and crops die, he feels parts of himself wither too. What is worse is that he will join them to the afterlife, and Allah is not satisfied with him and the curse is pursuing him. This earthly hell will only leave for amore cruel and eternal hell. His dream of the promised paradise is lost! The crisis of thirst, the shortage of water and food, high prices and unemployment will force the villagers to leave their town where every rock, tree or place carries a thousand stories and memories. 

The social and psychological pressure on the villagers have reached a breaking point with water in scarce supply and food costs soaring, the once tightly-knit community has begun to unravel. The values of solidarity, generosity and cooperation that once defined the village have given way to selfishness and opportunism. The villagers once bound together by a shared heritage, now compete for the dwindling water resource. 

Conflict over water has divided the community into fractions, eroding the very fabric of village life. Nature has died, the community's values have withered, and El Kasbah has become alien to its own people. The climate crisis has not only destroyed the natural environment but also the social cohesion of the village, leaving its people in a state of hopelessness and despair, facing an uncertain future.

State intervention: what impact on the local population?

As the people of El Kasbah struggle with the relentless drought, the Moroccan government has stepped in to alleviate some of the hardships faced by local populations. Recognizing the growing threat of climate change, Morocco has implemented several national strategies to mitigate its effects and help the most vulnerable communities. 

Morocco, aware of its vulnerability to climate change, ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1995, the Kyoto Protocol in 2002, and the Paris Agreement in 2016. It has translated their provisions into a mitigation strategy aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, especially through the development of renewable energies and the expansion of plantations. Morocco has also developed an adaptation strategy focused on saving irrigation water and mobilizing unconventional water sources, such as desalination and recycling. Additionally, the government launched the National Strategy for the Development of Rural Space and Mountain Areas to democratize access to infrastructure and basic social services, such as education, health, and drinking water. 

In response to the ongoing drought, the state has undertaken emergency measures to assist underprivileged rural families and livestock breeders. Thus, it provided subsidized barley to livestock breeders, and distributed food aid to poor families. These measures preceded three social support programs including "Tayssir" which consists of paying monthly grants to parents of students in school with a view to generalizing schooling and combating school dropouts. To generalize health coverage, the State has developed the “AMO” program from 2022. Poverty worsened after the “Covid 19” epidemic and successive droughts, which pushed the State to pay an amount of fifty dollars monthly to families eligible for aid following the program “RSU”. 

These measures - although necessary - do not reassure beneficiaries who are anxious about their state of assistance and who wish to take control of their destiny. This necessarily happens through valid and complete information on the serious consequences of climate change, the restoration of a mutual trust between the population and institutions, reconnection with ancestral practices and religious values relating to water saving and the construction of buildings as with consumption and the duty of solidarity. The State must take firm and restrictive measures against the waste of water by encouraging large agricultural operations to abandon water-intensive crops such as melon, watermelon, avocado, etc. intended for export and encourage subsistence crops that produce food for the population. 

While having aimed to describe the reversal of the situation caused by climate change in a Moroccan village with a semi-arid climate, in villages further southeast, with a more arid Saharan climate, the situation is even more dire. Local populations, weakened and destabilized by the destruction of their livestock, food and aquatic resources, infrastructure, and economy, are becoming increasingly impoverished. For them, immediate concerns such as water and food far outweigh ecological considerations like CO2 emissions, renewable energy, or international environmental law. 

The word that best describes their mental and psychological state is uncertainty. They are gripped by anxiety over unpredictable rainfall, water availability, epidemics, floods, plant diseases, and state support. Unable to foresee their future, they expect only the worst. In response, their survival instincts have driven them to adopt unusual behaviors. This is why education on climate change is crucial. It can raise awareness, help communities adapt to climate risks, and influence public policies. There is a clear role here for environmental and humanitarian NGOs: to turn the slogan "One world, One humanity, One destiny, One responsibility" into practical action.