Tea-time in the fields

Haouz Plain near Marrakech

In the Haouz Plain, just outside of the city of Marrkaech, it is time for tea for these farm workers in the olive grove.

Mediterranean climate is characterized by the presence of a long period of hot, dry weather. In the Haouz, there is generally no rain from April until the end of October. Irrigation becomes necessary. Farmers carefully work up the soil around their tree crops to capture the winter rains and allow rainwater to penetrate the ground fully.

These men have spent several hours cultivating the ground in and around olive trees. The ground they have worked up yielded a crop of barley or wheat in the early summer. Now, in September, they are working the ground again, readying it for a new crop of grain to be planted just before the winter rains arrive in October. This way, the land yields two crops--the olives from the trees, and the grain from the interspaces. This is called double-cropping.

-Why would most drouble-cropping in the world be hand (not machine) work?/Moroccans break for tea during the morning and afternoon work hours. The tray, with a pot of prepared mint tea, has been brought out from the house on the silver tray you see in the center of the picture. Tea-time is a moment to relax and swap stories and tell each other the news./-What do you think would constitute "news" among these farmworkers?

Two languages are indigenous to Morocco: Arabic and Berber. French is also widely spoken. The Haouz, like most of the plains and cities of Morocco, is Arabic-speaking. The highlands areas of the country are largely Berber-speaking.

-Why is French a second language in Morocco?

-Study the language map of Morocco. Compare Berber-speaking areas with the map showing elevation in Morocco.