Progress Made, More to Come

Tomorrow, I leave Rabat after several full weeks here with my new colleagues at ENIM. There are some signs of success and some lessons learned for future iterations of ADE: Morocco. An important observation is that folks at ENIM are indeed interested in continuing this Olin/Babson/ENIM collaboration. Though there still remains a long way to go before our structure of cooperation is automatic, our two current projects are under way in encouraging fashion.

The project to improve the performance of rural cactus farming cooperatives has benefited from two site research sessions. First hand exposure to processing techniques and interviews with a thoroughly knowledgeable co-op president have detailed our vision of the local state of the art.

This unusual crop, the Barbary Fig or prickly pear, is mean on the hands with its tiny spines but can turn steep, rocky fields into fruit, jelly, animal feed, and the prized cactus seed essential oil. This oil is loaded with vitamin E and other compounds of great appeal for cosmetics from creme to shampoo. Although other parts of the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region such as Tunisia have developed the crop, the countryside of Morocco is still ripe for a much larger development of cultivation and processing. Ideas are already brimming for tailoring solutions for processing and marketing to the local context.

Our second project is simple to name but delicate to pursue. We seek to create a telecommunications solution for the illiterate. Notably, we're familiar with the frequent challenge that illiterate Moroccans face when trying to dial a phone number. The usual scenario is to find a family member, friend, tele boutique worker or total stranger to dial a number from a pre-written list of contacts. There's got to be a better way! Now in the earliest stages of user research, we've only scratched the surface of who illiterate Moroccans are, how they communicate or try to, and how they feel about communications tools which currently seem all but inaccessible.

Complications at play here include the hazy continuum of literacy skills and the number of languages which one might want to use in Morocco. First language first, one would probably target literacy in Darija, or Moroccan Arabic dialect. But Fus'ha standard Arabic has its importance, as the official language of law, politics, and the like. And don't forget French, which though not essential is definitely pervasive throughout the country and opens doors to a lot of international exchange. The breadth of potential stakeholders and personal nature of daily communication leave a clear need to apply user oriented design techniques to effectively respond to the tapestry of human issues.

As I depart the capital, I leave two established international teams of students, now in regular contact and having an emerging work process and shared goals. We have problem framing and user research underway, and I've had the opportunity to share a few choice lectures from a core Olin design course. Coming up in just two short weeks, some of our Moroccan teammates will be visiting Olin and Babson thanks to a grant from the Moroccan Fulbright Alumni Association. There's still risk in the air and challenges to overcome. There aren't enough time or financial resources to do it 'perfectly.' But to my entrepreneurial senses, that smells like something worth doing.

As is often the case, it is now at the end of the visit that I feel the most connected to a productive daily rhythm. The minutiae of knowing a place add up to operational effectiveness: here are some examples.

1. The best time to go for a jog is before 7 am. As soon as morning traffic starts to move, the pallor of diesel exhaust makes aerobic
   exercise more like a pack of cigarettes than a work out.
2. You can pay 12 Dh for 0.5 L of water in a restaurant, or 9 Dh for 5 L of water in a corner store (epicerie).
3. The same epicerie sells bread for 1-2 Dh. A jar of apricot or fig preserves will set you back 20 or 30 Dh. Why pay 60 Dh for a breakfast ever again?
4. Some cafes have reliable internet (mostly
   in the Agdal quarter). Good cafes have internet and outlets. The best cafe's also give you a free bottled water with your cafe au lait. (I was proud to have frequented the same establishment enough times to be called 'mon frere' by familiar server as he shook my hand on his way out after his shift.)
5. The better you can specify the landmarks around a taxi destination, the less winding of a route the cabby seems inclined to take.

In parting, a panorama of Moulay Idriss, hillside town in our cactus producing region.