What matters most is not just delivering results by numbers of people who have benefitted from the activities of the Foundation, but it is the fact that it is forging such strong and important connections and relationships with local people that they talk openly about the value of the initiatives to their lives. What the Foundation does really matters to the people of Boucraa.

Change can come from the most unexpected of places, empowering people to achieve their dreams can be transformative. A simple grain, easy to overlook, can provide huge benefits for communities.

The Ayafa Cooperative, located near the Atlantic Ocean in Foum El Oued outside Laayoune, has turned couscous into an art, powered by an entire community. Local women have been empowered to create their own social enterprise, making couscous by hand using local ingredients, to create a truly authentic product. The Cooperative has introduced quinoa as an additional ingredient and has put on the market the new Soudaassi Couscous with 6 cereals.

The Phosboucraa Foundation supports the Al Ayafa Cooperative with financial aid and with volunteers. Considered a key social enterprise, the Cooperative now has 30 women members and serves as a place for them to meet, talk and work with like-minded women. Many of the members did not previously have jobs and the Cooperative teaches marketing and business alongside the creation of the couscous, to promote entrepreneurial spirit. Through the cooperative, the Foundation aims to economically empower these women and enable them to generate a revenue from their work.

Supporting social enterprises like this are core to Phosboucraa’s values of community. Working with the group allows us to reach people that we would not ordinarily be able to. Helping local communities preserve traditions is very important to us, and in the Sahara, as in the rest of Morocco, there is no greater tradition than that of good food!

Hospitality is the first thing that any visitor in the Sahara notices, from welcoming people, copious cups of tea, and of course legendary feasts. No Saharan feast is complete without couscous, and true Saharan couscous is made by hand.

The cooperative allows age-old methods to be preserved, rather than over-taken by factories. And actually, the method is not that alien to us at Phosboucraa – strangely, making couscous and processing phosphates are actually similar processes, with all of the sifting and drying!

While tradition is vital, women’s empowerment is also key to the success of a community. This project allows us to do both.

The money made by the group can be used by the women to help support their families.
In a region where, historically, women have not had the same access to employment as men, it is a significant step to provide a role that gives them the choice of whether or not they want to work.
For us at Phosboucraa, the project meets so many of our community goals. We wish the group a successful future and we will be with them every step of the way.

The tuition costs are very expensive, especially after high school. I was also able to acquire a range of personnal skills thanks to Phosboucraa Foundation scholarship.

 

 

Please click here to watch this video

 

After the training we had with Amideast through Phosboucraa Foundation, we acquired professional skills. We learned how to deal with clients, how to manage a cooperative and how to deal with the co-op members.

 

 

Please click here to watch this video

 

I benefited from the business creation program initiated by the Laayoune Learning Center. It helped me set up my business from the beginning until the end.

 

 

Please click here to watch this video

 

 

I became more sociable because the people there are amazing. IT teachers, French teachers, self-development teachers and many others […] They treat me as if I were family. I can’t thank them enough, because they did a lot.

 

 

Please click here to watch this video

 

 

We are proud to be Sahrawi, our people have lived in the desert for generations. It is in our soul. This land is a livelihood for many of us.
While most people in the Moroccan Sahara have moved to towns and cities, many still have an even deeper connection to the desert, living a Bedouin lifestyle. It is a life that we love.
In the desert tradition rules, and bonds established over centuries still rule, camels are our transportation, friends and then our food source.
I am truly happy. Without this program, I believe that it would be very hard to keep alive our traditions. We would lose our friends, our community, perhaps even ourselves.