2023-12-03 16:26:00
By joining Morocco's first gardening school, which places environmental issues at the heart of its teaching, young Hind Bensbitia sharpened her outlook on climate change but also found a perspective for the future.
Located on the outskirts of Salé, a town neighboring the capital Rabat, the Bouregreg Med-O-Med gardening school has been offering free three-year training since 2018, mainly open to young people at risk of social exclusion or who have dropped out of school.
The challenge of the project, recently distinguished by the European “green skills” prize, is threefold: raising awareness of climate change, promoting the inclusion of young people, particularly affected by unemployment, and promoting gender equality.
“After leaving school, I spent two years at home. I wasn't satisfied, I wanted to be active,” Hind Bensbitia, 20, who left her school, told AFP. high school education.
Three years ago, she discovered by chance this Moroccan-Spanish cooperation project, initiated by the Spanish NGO Foundation of Islamic Culture (FUNCI).
“Before, I couldn’t imagine gardening as my job. This training has given me a lot, I perceive the environment and the need to protect it in a different way,” confides the student dressed in a green blouse, struck of her school's logo, where she feels “more in (her) element than elsewhere”.
Drought and unemployment, double punishment
The establishment, located on eight hectares near a rehabilitated landfill, promotes an eco-responsible system: “the gardening model is entirely ecological, the building is bioclimatic, designed in raw earth, and the electricity is of solar origin “, explains the Spaniard Inés Eléxpuru, coordinator.
The school has a nursery of local plants, better adapted to water stress, a crucial issue for Morocco which is suffering its worst drought in almost 40 years.
This is also expected to intensify by 2050 due to a drop in rainfall (-11%) and an increase in temperatures (+1.3°C), according to official data.
“Through this training, I realized that the life of a plant depends on our desire to take care of it. Simple actions can make the difference”, underlines Mohssine Errahimi, 18 years old, encountered in the corridors of the school which trains up to 90 people per year.
This student worked from the age of 16 as an apprentice gardener in hotels and private homes, one of which pushed him to enroll at the Bouregreg school.
“After my training, I hope to start my gardening business to help build my country,” he says.
The professional integration of young people is a key objective because they are the most affected by economic difficulties in Morocco.
The unemployment rate for 15-24 year olds reached 38.2% in the third quarter of 2023, compared to 13.5% nationally, according to the High Planning Commission (HCP).
Planters
More than one in four young people in this age category “does not work, is not in school and does not follow any training”, according to another HCP study published in 2022.
The school trains “young people who come from complicated family situations (…) and from really precarious and difficult surrounding neighborhoods”, underlines Inés Eléxpuru.
They are “motivated, want to have a dignified life and earn money to support themselves and their families”, she adds, estimating that 70% of them find formal work once they graduate and that training also helps to “curb irregular migration”.
The establishment also has 20 to 25% young women, also more affected by unemployment (the rate is 19.8% compared to 11.7% for men).
“The profession (of gardener) is always associated with men. At the beginning it was complicated, even with clients who were looking to recruit only men, but things are starting to change,” reports Ms. Eléxpuru.
“Outside, people look down on you for choosing this training, because for them it is not suitable for girls,” says Hind Bensbitia. “I don't care (…) I have the support of my family and I will continue.”
“There are a lot of stereotypes around jobs that women should not do,” adds Loubna Nassif, a 17-year-old girl. “I say we have to prove them wrong.”
03/12/2023 15:24:44 – Salé (Morocco) (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
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