Tazerzite: improving access to employment through agriculture
The challenge of regional development in Agdez and Zagora
In rural Morocco, training and vocational qualification opportunities remain limited for young people. This leads to high levels of unemployment. Local opportunities for economic integration are not visible enough and it is not always clear how they can be accessed, leading some young people, especially men, to migrate to the cities.
Young women, marginalised and financially dependent, have even less access to resources and vocational training, excluding them from local decision-making positions. This lack of targeted employability initiatives is holding back the region's socio-economic development. However, by putting carefully designed initiatives in place, it is possible to offer these young people the opportunities they need to flourish and contribute actively to their communities, thereby preventing rural exodus.
Tazerzite's commitment: to create a programme for education and entrepreneurship
Tazerzite is committed to giving the young men and women of Agdez and Zagora the means to take their future into their own hands. To achieve this, they are implementing a proactive and structured approach based on several key stages:
- An introductory training course: Tazerzite offers eight five-day training sessions, covering crucial subjects such as entrepreneurship, production and marketing techniques, and date palm cultivation.
- Work experience: Tazerzite organises twenty-day hands-on internships within the ‘GIE Mezguita Dattes’ cooperative group and on local farms, so that programme participants can put their skills into practice. A second internship is then organised at other local farms. This gives young people the opportunity to learn more about the profession and discover its realities.
- Pastoral support: young people receive professional, psychological and emotional support to help them overcome obstacles and enhance their confidence so that they can build their own future.
- Financial assistance: promising young people receive financial support. This financial support promotes entrepreneurship and local economic development.
The aim: a lasting transformation for young people
Within the framework of this three year project, Tazerzite is committed to creating lasting change for young people and the local community. 90 participants (50 men and 40 women) will develop skills in entrepreneurship, management and date palm cultivation, enabling them to create their own jobs or enter the job market. Particular attention will be paid to empowering rural women, strengthening their economic independence and their active participation in the management of local affairs.
The project will also provide financial support for young people, encouraging economic development in the region. In the long term, these actions will have a positive influence on the social and economic stability of the community, by reducing unemployment, curbing migration to urban areas and stimulating local economic activity.
Tazerzite adopts a sustainable and inclusive approach to development, in which each individual finds his or her place and plays a part in the prosperity of the region. This initiative paves the way for a better future for young people in Agdez and Zagora today and for generations to come.