The Patchwork of Belonging Series 1: Morocco/Wales
Written by Lorén Elhili and Nessie Reid
Some background…
The Patchwork of Belonging Series I is rooted in two landscapes where we (Nessie and Lorén) currently live and work: Nessie’s home in Wales, and our ongoing work with the Global Diversity Foundation (GDF) in the High Atlas Mountains and Marrakech, Loren’s home.
In Morocco, the physical and cultural landscapes of the High Atlas continue to profoundly shape the spirit and work of GDF. The Morocco programme of work is our longest-running programme and our team is dedicated to conserving both the cultural heritage and biodiversity of the region. In Wales, Nessie has become deeply integrated into a community of farmers, forging meaningful connections to the history of Welsh kinship with the land.
The decision to weave the context of Wales into this iteration emerged from our shared reflections on the historical experiences of both regions. Morocco and Wales, each shaped by the colonial legacies of French and English rule, have only in recent decades seen the revival and flourishing of their indigenous/local identities—the Amazigh and Welsh cultures—both of which are experiencing a renaissance today in the re-emergence of languages and cultural traditions being celebrated. These two landscapes offer incredibly meaningful examples of belonging to the land, embodied in the communities that steward them and transmit their stories.
In Wales, Nessie’s ancestry traces back to her great-grandfather, who traded guano from the port of Aberaeron, near her current home and farm. She has been exploring her personal connection to the Welsh landscape, reflecting on concepts like Dadeni and what it means to live in the right relationship with both human and non-human worlds.
The Journey of the Patchwork in Morocco
When we first envisioned how The Patchwork of Belonging would happen and where it would travel, we felt it was crucial for it to start with a community we collaborate with in the High Atlas, and chose the Nisae Aska cooperative in Azilal.
Nisae Aska is a female-led cooperative whose livelihoods are intimately connected to their working of the land where they harvest wild plants and domesticated plants, overseeing the maintenance of plant nurseries with our colleagues at MBLA. Nisae Aska produces saffron, dried herbs and some distillations of these into essential oils. They also have a history of being rug makers, creating natural dyes for the rugs from plants they harvest. This community of women shared their connections to plant life, seeds and the cultural landscapes surrounding them in the Azilal Region.
Working with us to facilitate the space with the women of Nisae Aska, we invited Othmane Ouallal with us on the exchange as well as our fantastic Sustainable Livelihoods team, Nihad, Hamza and Fatiha. Othmane identifies as an Amazigh artist, his work and practice fluently weave in Amazigh poetics of storytelling, song and ecological connection. His research mines oasis spaces (common to Marrakech, an oasis city) to find narratives of social, cultural, economic, and architectural histories, drawing narrative connections amongst these. Othmane deconstructs the dichotomy between concrete and earth, the rigidity of modernism and the fragility of tradition, drawing awareness to the harmful impact of urbanisation on oasis spaces. Othmane gave the women workshops on storytelling in Tamazight, exploring the role of myth and memory of the local landscapes, encouraging these forms to come into their patchwork contributions.
With Othmane and our team, we learned about the poetry and song embedded in harvesting, weaving, gathering, dying and more – the complexity and breadth of the oral culture that’s attached to these acts of doing in Morocco is so big. Spontaneous singing animated our sharings, alongside laughter and joy at recalling certain songs and poems. We shared an abundance of tea, bread, local butter and honey and walked in the plant nurseries and local landscapes, stopping to smell herbs and hear stories about everyone’s unique connections to them. The patch-making session brought our 3-day exchange to an emotional ending, with everyone bonding over their reflections of belonging.
After Azilal, the patchwork travelled with us to Demnate, to a 4-day Community Exchange for GDF’s Conservation and Communities Fellowship. The 28 fellows added their patches over the 4 days, whilst weaving in songs and stories as they went along.
Following the Community Exchange, the patchwork travelled to the International Society of Ethnobiology Congress (co-organised by GDF), where Congress delegates – from over 20 different countries – added their patches.
There was no formal session at the congress; instead, everyone was warmly encouraged to join and stay for as long or as little as they wished. The Patchwork of Belonging was one of nine offerings within the cultural forum— a free-spirited and creative space for rest and reflection. The forum was organized into nine mini Moroccan salons, complete with floor seating and rugs, creating an inviting and relaxed atmosphere.
The Patchwork of Belonging was displayed in its partially completed state, drawing in those seeking a moment to unwind as well as those curious about the colorful mark-making materials, threads, and contributions. Over the course of three days, it evolved into a cozy, spontaneous space for sharing conversations, exchanging ideas, and meditating over the patch creations.
This soft and open space is central to the patchwork’s praxis as a participatory work—a space where everyone is welcome to contribute, where every individual story of belonging weaves into the collective whole.
The Completion of the Patchwork in Wales
In partnership with the Natural History Museum as part of their Generation Hope project, the Wales portion of Series 1 will complete the Patchwork (a total of over 200 patches). Gathering stories and testimonies from farmers, landworkers, and others in the Welsh food system, Lorén and Nessie will continue to explore questions of belonging, connection and possible exclusion from land. This will culminate in a patchwork-making event and public dialogue, co-designed with young practitioners working at the intersection of climate action, food, and farming in Spring 2025. We are currently in discussion for Welsh museums and community arts spaces to host these workshops.
Further details of our hosting partners and participants will be announced in early 2025.
As the Patchwork of Belonging Series 1 wraps up in Spring 2025, we will be turning our attention to creating a digital version of the Patchwork. This will form part of a tour and will also offer those not able to interact with the physical work, the stories of belonging from many of the individuals who contributed to its parts, all of which will draw further parallels between the two primary geographies series 1 encompassed.
