Reinventing Iraben

For those travelling in southern Morocco, the Tizi n’Tichka (2260 m), one of the highest pass in the High Atlas, is a legendary place. Telouet, a mountain village and the original home of the Glaoua tribe, represented, for centuries, a strategic crossing point and derived its wealth from caravan passage rights. Due to the construction of the new, easier Tizi n’Tichka route, this privileged status was lost, resulting in the isolation of the village and the slowing of its development. The area north of Telouet consists of a large plateau facing south over the valley. Here lies the small settlement of Iraben, one of the first villages encountered coming from the north along the old caravan road. Iraben has preserved over time some of the constitutive, vernacular features of the mountain territory, which is poor in resources but rich in identity. This area way part of a research by design experience part of the "Morocco Cities of the South. Telouet Workshop".