M’Hamid, Morocco: Your Heritage, Your Future

M’HaMid, Morocco Your Heritage, Your Future

ArCHIAM is an interdisciplinary research centre based at the University of Liverpool, which brings together a range of researchers interested in the study of the architecture and cultural heritage of India, Arabia and the Maghreb.

Terrachidia is a Spanish non-profit NGO established by a group of architects who specialise in heritage preservation and development cooperation, and share an interest in vernacular architecture, traditional crafts and building techniques.

CLAUDIA

PASQUALE

GUYU BAO Research Technician

KENZA BELAHNECH Consultant

PROF SOUMYEN BANDYOPADHYAY Director

DR GIAMILA QUATTRONE Project Coordinator

BRIGUGLIO Research Assistant

LAROSA Research Technician

CARMEN MORENO ADÁN President

MARTA COLMENARES FERNÁNDEZ Secretary

RAQUEL PEÑA LÓPEZ Treasurer

Á NGELA CALVO Communication Assistant

All photographs and illustrations are by ArCHIAM, except the illustration on p.24, which is based on a watercolour by Amanda Roelle.

8-12 years old

Thisworkshop aims to share with you knowledge about the cultural heritage of M’Hamid Oasis.

Creative hands-on activities and fun quizzes will enhance your knowledge of M’Hamid’s cultural heritage, and the maths, geometry and science concepts behind it.

You will “learn by doing” about geometry and construction in local traditional architecture, couscous, oasis agriculture and their role in the CO2 cycle.

January 2023

Ksar Ouled Driss Morocco

15 Minutes

WelcOMe and grOups fOrMatiOn

15 Minutes presentatiOn by prOject teaM

60 Minutes activity (pp.14-16)

15 Minutes

30 Minutes

break activity (pp.18-20)

30 Minutes

Quiz (pp.22-25)

15 Minutes

feedback

Thetraditional settlements (ksour) of M’Hamid Oasis are compact agglomerations of buildings densely packed together. These are accessed either from a main long street or from short alleys.

The architecture of the ksour includes: perimeter walls with defensive towers and access gates; courtyard houses; mosques; funerary buildings where holy men (marabout) are buried.

The architecture consists of solid structures with square or rectangular shapes, small and sparse windows, and flat roofs. In prominent communal buildings, such as mosques and marabouts, roofs are dotted by egg-shaped domes.

The construction uses local natural materials from the oasis - earth, palm and tamarisk wood - which are combined together to build walls, floors and roofs.

Marabout of Sidi Abdellah Khalifa, Ksar Ouled Youssef

Wallsare built by compacting layers of earth (tallouhat) within wooden molds (tabout).

Columns and domes are built out of hand-made sun-dried mud bricks (tob).

Floors and roofs comprise: palm tree trunks (1); tamarisk branches (2); a reed mat (3); a woven palm leaf mat (4); a thick layer (5) and a thin layer (6) of compacted earth.

Decoration is mostly found on

the walls of towers, gates, mosques, marabouts and house courtyards. Decorative motifs consist of basic geometric shapes - rectangles, triangles and squaresoften combined together to form chevrons, zig-zags and chequerboards.

Decorative motifs come as voids between bricks or bricks sticking out of the wall at an angle, thus creating unique plays of light and shadow.

Interior of mihrab tower, Old Mosque, Ksar M’Hamid El Ghizlane

Oasiscrops are cultivated in three tiers: large date palm trees (top tier); fruit, tamarisk and small date palm trees (middle tier); cereals, vegetables, pulses and fodder (bottom tier).

Plants and animals contribute to the CO2 cycle, during which carbon dioxide (CO2) travels from the atmosphere into living organisms, the Earth and back into the atmosphere.

Through photosynthesis, plants

absorb energy from sunlight and use it to transform CO2 in the air into oxygen, which they release back into the air.

Through respiration, plants and animals release CO2.

Organisms and biological waste decomposing in the ground turn into fossils and fossils fuels. When fuels are burnt, their CO2 content returns to the atmosphere.

Burning firewood also generates CO2 emissions.

top tier: large date palm trees

middle tier: fruit trees; tamarisk trees; small date palm trees

bottom tier: cereals; vegetables; pulses; fodder

Sunlight

Photosynthesis

Carbon dioxide (CO2)

Wood-fire emissions

Oxygen

Organic carbon

Decaying organisms

Root respiration

Dead organisms and waste products

Fossils and fossil fuels

Couscous is eaten all over Morocco but the recipe changes.

In M’Hamid Oasis, typical ingredients include semolina, vegetables (carrots, courgettes, eggplants, tomatoes, turnips, onions, cabbage, pumpkin, raisins) and pulses (chickpeas), which are cooked in a spicy stew, and meat (mutton, lamb, chicken).

The semolina is rolled by hand into small balls after sprinkling

it with water and flour. It is then sieved to remove clumps and separate the grains.

Finally, the semolina is steamed inside a palm leaf basket placed on top of a pot in which the ingredients cook on a fire within a mud hearth.

Traditionally, couscous ingredients came from the oasis: vegetables and pulses were grown at the bottom of gardens, where animals were free to forage.

Working

in groups on the illustration below:

STEP 1: trace over the geometric shapes (squares, rectangles, circles, triangles, etc.) that form the façade design.

STEP 2: identify and write down the rules (repetition, rotation, symmetry, etc.) that generate the façade design.

Well dOne!

You have traced the design of a traditional gate’s external façade.

Working

in groups, make a model of the gate illustrated in the exploded diagram, using the materials provided and following the instructions below.

STEP 1: model the exterior wall (1).

STEP 2: model the internal walls (2).

STEP 3: model the raised platform (3).

STEP 4: model the roof (4).

STEP 5: model the door (5).

Well dOne!

You have completed your model of a traditional gate.

Working in groups on the illustration below and using the icons provided:

STEP 1: identify the ingredients of couscous.

STEP 2: pick the corresponding icons and stick them on the tier of the oasis gardens in which vegetables grow and animals forage.

Well dOne!

You have mapped the couscous ingredients against the oasis stratification.

Working individually on the illustration below and using the icons provided:

STEP 1: think about the role played by the couscous preparation process within the CO2 cycle.

STEP 2: stick the icons on the areas where ingredients and cooking contribute to the CO2 cycle.

STEP 3: write down their contribution to the CO2 cycle.

Well dOne!

You have mapped the couscous preparation process against the CO2 cycle.

Quiz 1-arcHitecture: geoMetrY & construction

WHat’s HaPPened Here?

Carefully look at the two illustrations below and spot the differences in the illustration on the right.

Quiz 2-arcHitecture: geoMetrY & construction

WHat’s Missing Here?

Carefully look at the illustration of the gate, spot the missing elements and link their names to their correct location.

Palm tree trunks

Raised platform

Parapet wall

Tamarisk branches Door

Quiz 3-couscous: oasis agriculture & co2 cYcle

WHat’s tHis For?

Carefully look at the illustration of couscous preparation and link each name/material/description with the correct object.

Tray: contains the semolina

Pot with ladle: contains water that is added to the semolina

Bowl: contains wheat flour that is added to the semolina

Sifter: separates the semolina grains and remove clumps

Basket: contains the steaming semolina

Pot: contains the stewing vegetables

Hearth: contains the cooking fire

Quiz 4-M’HaMid, Morocco: Your Heritage, Your Future

WHat do You tHink?

Describe and/or draw a heritage element typical of M’Hamid (a craft, tradition, building, art form, etc.) which you feel most attached to, and explain why it is important for you and your future.