Summary of Field Research in Tghassrout, Tagma, and Bini Bouala for the Solar Cooking Project
Report by Interviews by Noor van der Vorst, University of Applied Sciences Van Hall-Larenstein,
Rajae Gaamouche, University of Oujda, 29th of June 2015
The domain of the woman in Morocco is cooking, fuel, collecting of wood, etcetera. This is the reason why only women have been consulted. The women always prepare the meals. The average number of family members differs from 4 to 7.
The following number of women, representing their households, have been interviewed in the villages;
Tghassrout > 5 women
Tagma > 14 women
Bini Bouala > 10 women
Access to fuel and food supplies
All the interviewees indicated to have sufficient access to fuel for cooking (gas and wood) but mentioned the big effort to gather wood and collect gas bottles as a problem. The drying of the wood during wet periods is also seen as a problem. However, there is always enough wood available. Wood gathering takes around 2-3 hours a few times a week. One wood package weighs around 25/30 kilos. Some families get their food supplies in Berkane, some have an own vegetable garden. The means they use for transport is by hand, by donkey, or by car.
Type of meals during the day and preparation
There are four times to eat during the day: breakfast, teatime, lunch and dinner. At breakfast they gave coffee, tea, bread, honey, jam, olive oil and butter for breakfast. The drinks are being prepared on gas, the bread in the wood oven. Tea time is similar to breakfast. For lunch (12 o’clock) they prepare vegetables in a pressure pan, on a gas bottle. For dinner (8 o’clock) they prepare soup, couscous, vegetables and meat on a gas bottle. The most used ingredients are sugar, flour, oil, vegetables, beans, potatoes, and water.
Availability of warm water
The families heat water for showering and washing their clothes on wood fire.
Day rhythm
Most of the people wake up around 5/6 o’clock in the morning and go to sleep around 9/10 o’clock in the evening.
Options of cooking devices
The cooking devices that are being used in the towns are; a traditional oven on wood to prepare bread, a modern oven on gas bottles, a traditional oven and an open fire place, modern heating supplies.
Used energy source
All interviewees indicated to use wood and gas for cooking and heating water. Households that are more poor, only use wood as an energy source. An additional option for the household is the use of charcoal, but this is used very sporadically because of the high cost.
Amounts of cooking time
Gas; 20-25 minutes for a pressure pan
Fire; 1-1,5 hours for a pressure pan
Fire; 1-3 hours for a pressure pan, depending on the ingredients (meat takes more time)
Other
Most of the women have electricity in their house, but some don’t. Some women have a fridge and some have running water, this differs a lot between the towns. Almost all women have a table for preparation inside their house and also cook inside, except for baking bread.
All women have space for the Fortune Cooker outside and most of them have space for the Fortune Cooker inside. They indicate that it is difficult to move heavy thins from inside to outside in their house. Almost every woman indicates they use only one pan to prepare a meal.