OVER THE RIVER and through the mountains. The first photo is about 25 miles from my town, and the other, about 50. Lots of S curves in and out, up and down mountains. When riding on the bus on this road, the driver passes out plastic bags, and you can count on several being used.

My village is located right on the highway between Marrakech and Ouarzazate. This is one of the main routes to the south; one of the main attractions is the desert with huge dunes, and camel rides if you wish. There is also a town renowned for its roses, and they have a huge festival each May. There is also a beautiful valley that many people travel to to hike. So, getting back to my village, we see literally thousands of tourists go through here every month. Most of the tourists in Morocco are from France, which was the last country to occupy Morocco, (and whose language is taught from early elementary grades, and is primarily that of government and university studies. Lots of other tourists; many Europeans rent motorhomes so we're seeing more of those all the time. Most tourists like to buy things to take home, so therein likes our opportunity to sell our handmade goods! The neddy is highly visible next to the road, and with signage (which is included in the project budget), we feel we can capture some of the tourist market in our little store.

I'll be working with a couple of women to show them how to make a brochure, and edit it after I leave, which can be distributed to a few select restaurants/hotels in this area. Next week will also begin the process of teaching how to tag merchandise, keep records of inventory/sales, etc.

I am hopeful that we can get the store up and running by this summer. Getting things done here takes an incredible amount of time. But patience will prevail! One of my newly-learned characteristics. Well, sort of! :)