SIT Graduate Institute/SIT Study Abroad SIT Digital Collections Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection SIT Study Abroad Spring 2016 Enough: Narratives of Migration on a Small-Farm in SidiBouafif Steven Ring SIT Graduate Institute - Study Abroad Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection Part of the Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Near and Middle Eastern Studies Commons, Other Anthropology Commons, Place and Environment Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Ring, Steven, "Enough: Narratives of Migration on a Small-Farm in SidiBouafif" (2016). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2368. https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2368 This Unpublished Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the SIT Study Abroad at SIT Digital Collections. It has been accepted for inclusion in Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection by an authorized administrator of SIT Digital Collections. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Ring1 Enough: Narratives of Migration on a Small-Farm in SidiBouafif Steven Ring Independent Study Project May 7th, 2016 SIT Morocco: Migration and Transnational Identity Ring2 Table of Contents Acknowledgments……………………………………………………………………………3 Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………….4 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………..5 Historical and Contextual Background………………………………………………………6 Literature Review…………………………………………………………………………….8 Methodology………………………………………………………………………………….13 Narrative of Case-Study.……………………………………………………………………...21 Analysis and Interpretations…………………………………………………………………..46 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………….55 Appendix 1: Figures…………………………………………………………………………..57 Appendix 2: Consent Form (English)…………………………………………………………63 Works Cited…………………………………………………………………………………...64 Ring3 Acknowledgments Thank you so much to the Khalid family and their overwhelming warmth. Without your openness, generosity, patience, and kindness, none of this would be possible. I cannot begin to express how incredible my experience was staying with the Khalid family, and without the Khalid family not only would this paper have been impossible, but my own experience in Morocco would be lacking as well. Thank you so much for the delicious bread, the silly cow- jokes, and welcoming me into your home. Thank you to my advisor Hakim Messaoudi, who provided jovial guidance throughout my research project. Your passion for your community has truly inspired me, and I cannot thank you enough for the car rides through Al-Hoceima province and your poignant reflections on being alive. Thank you to my academic director Dr. SouadEddouda for believing in this project, and encouraging me even when I myself had doubt. Thank you to WidadMazrag for facilitating so many of the experiences that led to this project, and helping me out of more than one tricky situation. Thank you to Dr. Kamal Aberkami and Omar Hajii for their hospitality and assistance at each of their respective farms. Thank you to Leah Kahler, whose previous work with the Khalids proved an invaluable resource and inspiration for my own ISP. Thank you to AzedineHasany, who came through with incredibly helpful Arabic translations at the last minute Thank you to my friends and family, whose support means the world to me. My cup runeth over. Ring4 Abstract Small-scale family farms in the Eastern Rif have undergone challenge after challenge throughout the 20th century, including war, poverty, restrictions of natural resources, overpopulation, and extensive labor migration. This paper aims to examine the ways in which narratives of migration manifest in the daily lives of a family living in the plain of Al-Hoceima. I hold the belief that the ways in which large-scale processes manifest in our daily lives is indicative of how these processes affect our identity. This research comprises a case-study with the Khalid family of SidiBouafif, and aims to examine the ways in which media, ideologies, and materials from abroad are contextualized within everyday life on this small-scale family run farm. In addition, the research will look at the ways in which larger agricultural operations are privileged by the Moroccan government, and how institutionalized policies of the state contribute to the marginalization of famers living in SidiBouafif. The paper concludes that narratives of migration are extremely prevalent within the Khalid family, and moreover, these narratives are in large part positive. Europe and America are conceived as places of greater opportunity and wealth, and are often used as the standard to which their own lives are compared to. Despite a gravitation toward Europe and America, the Khalid family remains extremely proud of both their Amazigh identity, and their ability to provide for themselves regardless of pressures imposed upon them by the Moroccan State. Research Question: How do positive and negative narratives of migrations manifest themselves in the daily lives of small-scale family run farms in SidiBouafif? Key Words: agricultural Anthropology, Identity, Agronomy, Biographical Narrative, Amazigh, Rif Mountains, rural Anthropology, Migration --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ring5 Introduction Agricultural is intrinsically linked to the building of societies. It goes hand in hand with everything we do as humans, and without it we could not survive in the world we have built. Needless to say, farming is as old as organized human society, and is a key aspect of our identity as a species. Farming in the Rif Mountains, and specifically in Al-Hoceima Province, has been practiced for thousands of years. During this time, agriculture, like all other human institutions, has undergone significant change. From technological advances to shifting of climates and the movement of peoples, agriculture has adapted to the contexts it must. However, during the 20th century, agriculture in Al-Hoceima Province has gone through especially dramatic transformations. Outmigration from the region, increased access to agricultural technology from other parts of the world, and pressures from the Moroccan State have all served to shape the modern political, social, and economic context of farming in the region. Today, it is estimated that 48% of Al-Hoceima Province’s land is under cultivation, and the vast majority of these farms are operated on a small-scale by families (Centre Régionald’Investissement, 2004). These farms are generally around a half acre in size, (2,000 meters) and generally cultivate crops for subsistence, not for export (Ring, 2016). With the advent of programs by the Moroccan state and other international organizations, the identity and nature of these farms is undergoing significant change. Factors such as water rights, market access, land distribution, and technological aspects are in all in flux, and often times in a way that marginalizes small-scale agricultural practice. Moreover, this contributes to larger marginalization that has taken place of not only small-scale agriculture, but of the Amazigh peoples who work on these farms. For the people in SidiBouafif, their agrarian and Amazigh Ring6 identity are closely intertwined, and often times they view challenges placed upon them by external forces as affronts to both (Ring, 2016). Moreover, Al-Hoceima Province lies in the Eastern Rif, a region known for its vast number of migrants. Hein De Hass estimates that between one fifth and half of all families in the region have at least one family member who has gone abroad for work (de Haas, 2003: 10). Over the course of this project in SidiBouafif, it was suggested that these numbers could be even larger. Given the myriad of pressures both internal and external on these small scale farmers, we are compelled to ask how these pressures affect the daily life of such a farmer.There is a stark lack of data on the lived experiences of the people who still farm the land in Al-Hoceima province, and within this project, I hope to produce meaningful data concerning this population. My project will involve a case-study with the Khalid family in SidiBouafif, and will aim to observe the ways in which narratives of migration manifest in the lives of its members. I expect to gather a wealth of data in the form of field notes, informal interviews, and active participant observation. It is my hypothesis that positive and negative narratives of migration manifest themselves in multiplicity of ways in the lives of the Khalid family in SidiBouafif. I imagine I will observe phenomena relating to my research in material culture, folk stories, agricultural techniques, and relationships to institutions. This research will be unique in that there are virtually no previous case-studies conducted with small-scale farmers in Al- Hoceima province, and the larger Rif region. However, this is certainly not only the reason to conduct such a study. It is my hope that the research I conduct can be situated in among larger discourse of how migration impacts small-scale agriculture. In addition, it will contribute to broader discussions of how migration impacts communities in the Rif, and could possibly having implications for movements of Amazigh identity. Moreover, I believe that research projects like Ring7 this can provide meaningful insight into how processes of ‘globalization’, or hegemonic influence