Monday, July 6, 2009

Our Berber Hippie Guide

We went to Dades Gorge on a expedition through family farms to understand the basic stable crops such as corn, yerba buena (speriment), cilantro, olive trees, cauliflower, alfalfa (for the animals), thyme, fig trees, tomatoes, peaches, and rose bushes to make rose water and cologne. The water that irrigates these farms comes from the mountains and the farmers do not pay any fees. Our guide was a Berber Hippie named Mohamed who was a nomad until he discovered that being a tour guide through the family farms would offered him a stable income to live close to the mountains and along the river. I really enjoyed his sense of humor and child like spirit, especially when I asked him to sing Berber songs. I would also like to mention that many of these farmers have family in France who like our Mexican immigrants in the United States have immigrated to France in search of opportunities to assist their families in the Dades Gorge.

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