Europe and MENA need each other. France gives Morocco some of the funds it needs to get its solar plan off the ground. Morocco has scorching solar ambitions, but fiscal limitations. King Mohamed VI made developing the country’s renewable energy resources a priority in 2008, when oil prices surged, and established a goal for solar […]
These warm, fragrant loaves bring Moroccan flavor to any meal.
The Arab World’s superstar, Morocco’s longstanding exploitation of natural resources in the Western Sahara casts a dark shadow on the country’s reputation. Following unprecendented support (nearly 99%) for a draft constitution initiated by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, the country is being hailed as a model for the rest of the Arab world. And so it […]
Karin goes on a 2-night stay at Kasbah du Toubkal, an eco-lodge in the foothills of North Africa’s highest peak. Soul-shifting is how I’d describe my two night stay at the Kasbah du Toubkal in the high Atlas mountains. From the gut-wrenching heat of Marrakesh, within an hour and a half we were transported to […]
My Berber guide Mohammed on our return journey from Mt. Toubkal, North Africa’s highest point. “You should know that I haven’t hiked in a while,” I told Mohammed, my Berber guide for a two day trek to the highest point in North Africa. He nodded and grinned, understanding nary a word. I allowed myself to […]
How you can travel lightly and simply, with baby. I just returned from a 9 day trip in Morocco. Besides attending a conference, my mission was to pack lightly, and return home lightly, without piles of tourist junk I would quickly throw away. I hiked in the Atlas Mountains, took a bus from Fez to […]
In the coming decades, natural disasters could costs Alexandria, Casablanca, and Tunis $1 billion each. The Middle East/North Africa region is the second most vulnerable to climate change, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC). Especially vulnerable are some of North Africa’s most famous cities, including Alexandria, Casablanca, and Tunis. A new World […]
Abu Dhabi’s Corniche has become the Arabian Gulf’s first Blue Flag beach The city of Abu Dhabi has become the first Arabian Gulf location to gain a Blue Flag environmental award for one of its beaches. The certification has been awarded to the famous Abu Dhabi Corniche, a four mile stretch of coastline which is […]
Eventually, desert-dwellers will be able to “print” their own homes using little more than the sun and sand. The Solar Sinter designed by Markus Kayser uses the sun and a high-powered fresnel lens to make glass objects from silica sand directly in the Sahara desert. This design requires no factory, no factory line, and no […]
The Moroccan government may lean on Desertec to meet its renewable energy commitments. The Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII) has signed a cooperation agreement with the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (Masen) to help enable exports of Morocco’s vast renewable energy reserves to Europe. The Desertec initiative is designed to develop North Africa’s latent renewable energy potential […]
The Middle East-North Africa region has greater potential for Concentrated Solar Power projects than in another in the world, a new World Bank study finds. If the MENA region plays smart, it could benefit from a huge influx of Concentrated Solar Power projects, according to a new World Bank study. In cooperation with Ernst & […]
From earthquakes to water scarcity, the Middle East faces its fair share of natural disasters but countries are only now starting to take disaster risk reduction seriously Over the last 25 years, the Arab region has suffered 276 disasters in which 100,000 people died, 1.5 million were left homeless and 10 million affected – yet […]
Climate change will disrupt every aspect of life in the next few decades, including the kernel of Middle Eastern culture. A Middle East without nuts is like Belgium without chocolate: virtually impossible to imagine. But a recent report published in the peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE (hat tip to Grist) shows that warm (and warming) countries […]
Meet billions of dollars in human capital and renewable energy finance at the EneR event in November. Morocco to invest 8 billion Euros in renewables over the next 8 years. Despite unrest in the Arab world, Morocco has remained a relatively stable environment socially and financially. As the first Arab country to make a serious […]
Every culture seems to have its ghee. This is smen, clarified butter from Morocco. It gives a flavor to all your food.