For cen­turies, the Berbers in the Middle and High Atlas Moun­tains have been sub­sist­ing on farm­ing and rais­ing cattle. How­ev­er, they are no longer able to make a living from the land. Soil ero­sion and the overuse of pas­tures is con­tin­u­al­ly forc­ing the men to go to find work in the city. But the city is far away, and trans­porta­tion alone eats up most of their wages.
In 2008, Moroc­co began to devel­op its more rural areas. With much effort and manual labor, power poles were erect­ed in the uneven, rocky ground. Because people had to pay to be con­nect­ed to the power grid them­selves, most of them began their modern lifestyle in debt.
Ivan Boc­cara fol­lowed the process of elec­tri­fi­ca­tion over a period of eight years, observ­ing the con­se­quences that soon became all too vis­i­ble. Young people are espe­cial­ly drawn to the city, where they hope to find dif­fer­ent edu­ca­tion and train­ing pos­si­bil­i­ties. What oppor­tu­ni­ties does elec­tri­fi­ca­tion bring?