Solar energy

It's hot and a fine dust blows in the wind. The ochre colored hills stretch endlessly under a radiant blue sky. There are but a few small houses dotting the horizon.

El-Gara is less than 60 kilometers east of the busy and modern Casablanca. There are scarcely any cars on the roads in the town. Instead, rickety carts pulled by donkeys rumble along the uneven paths.

The farmers in El-Gara struggle with the hot sun. Lakes and ponds are often dry, and it's difficult to water the fields. For the first time, though, the sun is now making everyday life easier for those who live here. It's providing them with energy by way of solar energy.

Until now, the houses here never had access to electricity. They are located too far away from the utility poles of the National Electric Company in Morocco. It would be unprofitable to connect them to the network. Thus, the electric company is now installing solar cells in households in the countryside.

Holy technology

The farmer Zar has a solar unit in his home. The gray power block connected to the solar cells is elevated and enthroned in the wall like an altar. A white cloth shields the block from dampness and dust.

The crown jewel of the device is a transistor radio, which Zar and his family are very proud of. The family paid the equivalent of 90 euros ($130) to install the solar unit. It now costs them six euros each month to maintain this little step in the direction of civilization.

"It has been very useful for us," said Zar's wife. She said that the family suffered a great deal without access to electricity. Even if it is not easy to pay for electricity each month, it's worth it. The family's children are also benefiting.

"At night, we now have light and can even watch TV," said the 14-year old Said.

Unclear images

Since most people here are unable to read and write, a sign bearing images hangs in each of the houses. It's a kind of instruction manual for the solar units. The pictures show household objects that can be connected to the solar power supply.

However, Zar's neighbor, Hassan, swears that the gadgets do not work.

"I bought a color TV that didn't work," Hassan said. "I bought it for 80 euros and had to sell it for 50 euros." On his black-and-white TV, both the picture and sound do not function correctly. It's a distorted window into civilization.

The TV rests on a dirty chair, and the power block for the solar panel is on the floor in a dark corner of the house. Although Hassan complained about the solar unit, he also said that it has an advantage: he does not have to rely on candles anymore. To have light at night makes life much easier, he said.

Life without water

Salah is completely disappointed by the electricity program, however. He lives on a tiny farm, even more isolated than Hassan and Zar with their families, high up on a dry hill. Salah's wife left him and moved to the city. She could not stand the difficult life in the countryside any longer.

TV is not the most important thing for Salah. The farmer laments that he can neither iron nor have a refrigerator.

"What can I do? I have to go shopping in the village everyday because I cannot store any food here," he said.

The face of the farmer in his mid-40s looks like that of an old man. Sun and hard work have left their traces. Salah had hoped for a better future for his son. He expected that the solar panels would make his life easier, but they have changed very little for him.

Salah has to pay ten euros for the trip to go shopping in the city, and there is no fresh water. He said his son can no longer go to school because he needs him to help collect water. The closest spring is ten kilometers away on a different hill.

Moving is impossible

Like Salah, everyone around El-Gara leads a difficult life. However, city life does not really represent a good alternative. Zar's wife would have gladly moved there in order to send her children to good schools.

"If there were work for us there, then I would have been happy to move," she said. "But there is nothing for us there."

Her husband said they would have trouble making their way there.

"The city is only for people who have studied," Zar said. "It is only for the intelligent. What could I do there?"

Author: Christine Harjes
Editor: Sabina Casagrande