Peace Corps Service Projects:

In September, 2004, the Western North Carolina RPCVs sent $600 to partially fund a loom to be used by a women’s cooperative in Sefrou, Morocco. The following is a letter from Gregg Johnson, PCV Morocco, who requested the funds.

The Women’s Association of Sefrou, in the Atlas Mountains of northern Morocco, was founded to help the women of the region improve their lives and their roll in society. One of their ongoing projects is a literacy campaign aimed at helping the women function in the modern world. With the aid of government funds, the women run 15 literacy training groups for young women who were not able to finish their education, due to limited family resources. In conjunction with this program, the women in the association’s leadership recognized the need to provide skills that would permit these young women to earn money from their homes. They presented a proposal to the Ministry of Artisan Affairs to start a training program in weaving for wearable cloth. For the program to proceed, a loom was needed for training, one which could be replicated for use in the participants’ homes. This was the loom that the RPCVs of WNC donated $600 to help make possible. The loom has arrived from the manufacturer and is being loaded with its first “warp”!

Your generous contribution makes it possible for our training plans to crystallize into actual weaving classes. Once the women have gained enough skill to produce saleable articles (such as scarves, yardage for clothing and table linens, etc) they will be able to sell their work through the Women’s Craft Cooperative, an offshoot of the Women’s Association that was formed to sell their handcrafts. We have high hopes for the sustainability of this project, particularly since the association and co-op are both nearly five years old and are functioning well. It is a dynamic group and they have already accomplished much with their limited resources. They greatly appreciate your support and would welcome an ongoing relationship with returned volunteers if you are interested.

This Peace Corps assignment is quite different from my first assignment 36 years ago, when I taught high school mathematics in Micronesia. I have found the Peace Corps to have changed substantially in that time, mostly by becoming more bureaucratic and the staff less idealistic and more career oriented. I was lucky enough to receive an assignment where the people I work with wanted exactly the skills and kind of help I could provide. Just completing my first year, I love being here and am thinking seriously of asking to extend. Wish me luck!

Gregg Johnson

Peace Corps Volunteer

Sefrou, Morocco