Dar Si Hmad has hosted education programs for over 12 years. We have hosted programs from Quinnipiac University, Lewis & Clark College, University of Tampa, Georgetown University, and the University of Kentucky – among many others! When we celebrated our 10th anniversary, we counted 54 groups in total
Our Ethnographic FIeld School not only provides academic and field training, but is a life-changing experience – Our Motto is Learn, Experience and Give Back
Our award-winning ethnographic field school allows students to experience fieldwork and research firsthand. Our immersive programs give students critical perspectives on local cultures, economies, and development projects, bridging the gap between theory and practice.
As a non-profit, all benefits from EFS tuition fund our local, Moroccan education and environmental initiatives.
Since its first pilot program in 2009, as of March 2020 Dar Si Hmad has hosted over 400 participants, a total of 55 groups, with the majority coming from American universities, in addition to a few high-school programs.
As examples, check the following study-abroad programs:
For Lewis and Clark: check the program
For Women Global Educational Initiative : check the program
In addition to academic lectures and discussions, our programs prioritize experiential learning, cross-cultural exchange, and community engagement. Students gain an immersive, critical perspective from the on-the-ground realities of southern Morocco, including the chance to conduct individual research projects, be mentored by our affiliated teachers, participate in locally-driven development initiatives, and engage with a range of experts and community members.
Our focus at Dar Si Hmad is environmental education, and programs are tailored to the specific interests and requirements of each group.
Among the most interesting aspects of anthropology as a discipline is leaving the four-walls of the classroom to experience some other reality. Being in this other reality, in the “thickness” of the time, the complex processes of its political, artistic or social scenes, and seeing oneself as this “other” who shares and participates is what the EFS facilitates for its beneficiaries. Each one of DSH’s theme covers some aspect in the life of Southwest Morocco, and more particularly Aït Baâmrane, and we then make the connection to more global issues and theoretical discussions.
Classes are an eclectic mix of experiential and immersive learning, conferences, debates, and lectures, all of which allow for critical and intense engagement with another culture. Our courses opt for a multidisciplinary approach and make human and cultural exchange their ultimate goals, allying the rational to the passionate and are much aware of the different systems of understanding and apprehending our world.
The following activities are the customizable building blocks of our programs: site visits (farms, NGOs, cooperatives), museums and urban history tours, language classes (Modern Standard Arabic, Moroccan Arabic, or Tashelhit), conferences, academic lectures and discussions, and exchanges with local students, community members, cooperative workers, activists, State representatives, business leaders, and other lay women and men. There are reading requirements for classes as well as some form of a final project and/or presentation.
Our programs are based out of Agadir, and we conduct training in Sidi Ifni, Taroudant, Tiznit, and other smaller towns of the southwest as well as the rural regions of the Anti-Atlas mountains where we have our famed fog-collection project and didactic farm. Each program offers participants ways to understand, explore and relate to a rich and diverse region of Morocco.
Our focus at Dar Si Hmad is environmental education, and programs are tailored to the specific interests and requirements of each group.
Our programs are always locally-rooted, with connections to globally-relevant issues and fundamental theoretical questions. Please write to us for specific details to dar@darsihmad.org and Dar Si Hmad’s qualified staff and guest lecturers have taught the following curriculum:
Critical Perspectives on Development; Ethnobotany and Permaculture; Water Systems and rural Livelihoods
Tourism and the Commodification of Culture; Subsistence Agriculture and Innovative Farming Practices;
Women’s Livelihoods: Argan and Aknari Cooperatives
Literature and Poetry; Art, Photography, and Cinema; Music and Dance; Cuisine and Food Identity
Arab and Amazigh Identities in the South; Gender and Sexuality; Migration; Education and Youth
Urban and Rural Governance; Fashion and Identity
DSH oversees the overall program for the participating students. As faculty-led programs, participating students register at their home institution. The school faculty and DSH finalize the proposed program, including the curriculum, itinerary, and activities. In the interests of total transparency, DSH proposes detailed provisional budgets and identifies in advance the project to which the profits will be allocated. DSH is a not-for-profit organisation and all tuition paid by the participating students are invested in projects benefiting precarious communities where we work. Please check our Micro-Project page.
In terms of logistics, Dar Si Hmad arranges transport, housing (apartments, hotels, and homestays), food, translation services when necessary, classroom space, internet connection, research support, and orientation sessions. Dar Si Hmad employs its own cook, has its own transportation, but when necessary, only contracts vetted drivers from trusted and established van rental services, and carefully selects the home-stay families.
Two class-sessions, Orientation and Cultural Sensitivity and The Ethics of Field-work, are absolutely mandatory for all students upon arrival. Students are also required to abide by the rules and regulations of Dar Si Hmad, including respecting our Zero-tolerance drug and alcohol policy during the program.
The safety and health of our participants is our priority. We provide all participants with a detailed cultural and safety orientation, important contacts, and specific emergency response plans.
App B4 Imm Hamria, Avenue Al Moukaouama
Agadir 80020 - Morocco
Avenue Hassan 1er Sidi Ifni - Morocco
PO Box 20686 Agadir Principale Agadir 80000 Morocco
(+212) 528 84 30 65
info@darsihmad.org
App B4 Imm Hamria, Avenue Al Moukaouama
Agadir 80020 - Morocco
Avenue Hassan 1er Sidi Ifni
Tiznit - Morocco
(+212) 528 84 30 65
info@darsihmad.org
