Food for Thought

With Halloween behind us, this month marks the beginning of the holiday season back at home. Thanksgiving is usually the kick-off, and where some Americans begin gaining the “holiday weight.” Turkey, stuffing, peppermint mochas, ham, etc. it’s the season to cook and indulge! In Morocco, Peace Corps Volunteers are using cooking as a way to empower females.

Krista Jorstad, Youth Development Volunteer in Berkane, provides in-class cooking tutorials at a women’s center. Jorstad explained that she was having trouble finding enough work at the Dar Chebab, so at the end of the summer she approached a women's center offering to volunteer her time.

She explained, “I had made a list of my hobbies that I could share with other women, including yoga and American cooking. I have experience working in restaurant and bakery kitchens in the US and already write a food blog that shares American recipes that can easily be made in Morocco. Women's health is an incredibly important issue in Morocco, and I saw the cooking club as an opportunity to talk about nutrition and food-related illnesses; expand taste palates beyond traditional Moroccan tastes and inspire creativity in the kitchen; offer a chance for cultural exchange; cultivate a community of strong women who can educate their peers on nutrition and women's health; provide further education for women who are normally cloistered within the home; and possibly expand their familiarity with computer technology by using the cooking blog as a learning tool. I started the second week of October and hold meetings once a week.”

Jorstad stated that she purchases the ingredients and brings it to class. The women’s center has a fully-equipped kitchen, which includes an oven, small buta gas, and a couple utensils. She typically has twelve girls between the ages of sixteen to twenty-five in attendance. Last class, Jorstad “lectured for a bit on American holidays and Halloween, and then we made apple pie, peanut brittle, caramel apples, and chocolate-dipped ‘eyeballs.’ We ended by sharing recipes from Aid lKabir and I gave three American recipes using lamb.”

Annie Bond, Youth Development Volunteer in Kerrandou, currently has a girls club that focuses on cooking. The club was created after a group of girls attended a leadership conference in Errachidia. The girls meet three times a week and decide what they want to cook. During Ramadan, the girls cooked Chabaka and a batch of cookies and sold it to people throughout the community. They are using those proceeds to buy ingredients for future dishes.

The girls meet at the Dar Chabab and use a portable buta gas stove. They also use an oven that was donated to them. Bond stated that prior to this, there were no girls who attended the Dar Chabab, but with this cooking club, girls are the only ones that attend it. When explaining her role, Bond stated, “I try to make sure that they don’t light themselves on fire.” Bond stated that she loves being fed, and enjoys being the taste tester! Bond stated that the girls have taken ownership of it, and have a leadership team that facilitates the meetings. Bond stated that, “this club created a space where girls can hang out, and talk amongst themselves.”