ECOMUSEE BERBERE

The Berber Ecomuseum of Ourika is probably the first Berber ecomuseum created in Morocco. Patrick Manac’h, an adopted Ouessant, of course knew the first ecomuseum in France, on the island of Ouessant, which gave him the desire to contribute to the knowledge of Amazigh culture by organizing a similar structure. The project was designed by Hamid Mergani and Patrick Manac’h, the support of Khalid Ben Youssef, Berber from Tafza, became essential. The contribution of Daniel Chicault, who in his twenties, in 1957, traveled through the Berber tribes, filmed them, is one of the most generous supporters of the museum foundation.
A house was found, restored with traditional techniques, in the heart of the village of Tafza, in the Ourika Valley. The permanent collection has been installed there. The ecomuseum is not only a conservatory, but a structure open to the activities of the valley. A private institution, it is managed by a structure under Moroccan law.