2001-02 Humphrey Fellow Touria Dafrallah took graduate courses for two
semesters at Cornell University along with nine other international
professionals in Environmental and Natural Resource Management. She attended
several workshops and visited many energy and environmental organizations in
order to enhance her research, make contact with specialists, and seek
partnership between Moroccan and US organizations in the field. Her
networking efforts were successful. Not only did she make a great number of
contacts with professionals in the field, but she also succeeded in creating
partnership between the Solar Household Energy (SHE), Inc. USA, the Conseil
Général de Loire Atlantic (CGLA), France and the Department of Energy and
Mines at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Energy and Mines where she
works in Rabat.
Touria was recruited as an intern at the World Bank Energy Sector Management
Assistance Program (ESMAP). She says her greatest pride was "informing U.S.
professionals about the Moroccan Leadership on Rural Electrification and
Rural Small Business Development Approach" through a paper she presented at
the request of ESMAP. She was also able to participate in a forum entitled
"Can the Private Sector Deliver Energy to the Poor?" and a workshop on
Global Village Energy Partnership.
Touria's heavy course load required a great investment on her part. One
course requirement was a presentation in which she chose to speak on wood
conservation in Morocco, and the possibility of introducing and developing
solar cooking in Moroccan rural areas. This method is not only an easy,
efficient way of using sunlight (a resource Morocco has plenty of) for
cooking, but it is also economical -solar ovens can be made at very low
cost- and the use of wood in cooking would be reduced by about half.
The partnership that Touria's HHH experience led to is already showing its
fruit. In March, Touria headed a mission for the evaluation of a Solar Oven
project evaluation in Agadir, along with an expert from CGLA with the
connection and orientation of SHE Inc. USA.
This article was reproduced from the Moroccan-American Commission for
Educational and Cultural Exchange (MACECE) Newsletter available at http://macece.bizland.com/media/Fall-2003.pdf
