Manos que Unen · Volunteering in Errachidia, Morocco

MOROCCO: THE CLOSEST INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEERING FOR THOSE WHO WANT A TRULY TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCE.

Just a few hours from Spain, you will live alongside a Berber community, take part in educational activities with children and discover a fascinating culture together with our local partners. This is not a charity trip: it is an experience of immersion, learning and cooperation that leaves its mark on the community and on everyone who lives it.

Kasr Tarda is the traditional village where the program takes place, located in south-eastern Morocco, in the Drâa-Tafilalet region, in the province of Errachidia. It sits near the Ziz valley and the city of Errachidia, surrounded by palm groves and the desert landscapes typical of southern Morocco. It is a calm, authentic area where traditional adobe buildings and Berber community life are still preserved.

Program activities (with the children)

• Leisure Workshop: part of the volunteering hours is spent on team games, sharing traditional Spanish games with the boys and girls.
• Creativity and Logic Workshop: activities that build imagination, motor skills and spatial awareness, combining cognitive skills with teamwork and fun.
• Spanish Language Workshop: activities to teach Spanish to the children of the village, combining more traditional methods with dynamic, playful activities.
• Cultural Immersion: two afternoons dedicated to cultural enrichment — one focused on learning about the work of rural women and helping them with their daily tasks in the fields, and another learning to cook a Moroccan dessert together with a family from the village.

Activities for volunteers

• Moroccan Arabic workshop: darija classes so you can learn basic expressions and vocabulary and communicate better with the children and the people of the village.
• Getting to know Moroccan culture: an open space for dialogue to learn about the country’s customs, values and history, with deep respect for diversity.
• Gastronomy workshop: you will learn to cook a Moroccan tajine and prepare traditional tea, sharing culture and local flavours.

Cultural immersion: rural women’s work

One of the cultural-immersion afternoons is dedicated to accompanying and helping the women of the village with their daily work in the fields: gathering fodder in the palm grove, tending the animals and other traditional oasis farming tasks. It is a unique opportunity to get to know rural Berber life up close and spend time with the families of Kasr Tarda.

Kasr Tarda and Errachidia

Errachidia, known as Ksar Souk until 1975, is the capital of Morocco’s Drâa-Tafilalet region and a major historic hub of the Ziz valley. It was traditionally a strategic point on the caravan routes connecting the Sahara with northern Morocco, favouring trade and cultural exchange. Its population, mostly Amazigh (Berber) and Arab, has developed an identity shaped by community life, oasis agriculture and a rich cultural tradition adapted to the desert environment.

Requirements

• No prior experience or training required.
• Be 18 years old by the start of the program (minors may take part with consent).
• Basic level of English.
• CV / resume.
• Pre-registration form.
• Criminal record certificate.
• A sense of adventure and solidarity, and plenty of enthusiasm to learn and have fun.

The project takes place in the village of Errachidia, together with our partner NGO in the CiENViDAS Manos que Unen project.

A volunteer’s day to day

You will live as one more member of the local families, wake up to the sounds of the village, share breakfast with the rest of the team, walk to the school and then spend time with the children and locals. You will learn words in darija, eat with local families, and by the end of the day you will most likely watch a sunset over the desert. A total disconnection from the modern lifestyle — a truly authentic experience.

And on weekends… free time to rest, or to travel!

Accommodation and meals

Accommodation: during your stay you will all live together in a house similar to the other houses in the village. It is a humble but welcoming home, with shared spaces to spend time together and rest in your free time. Keep in mind that there is no wifi in the house and mobile phone coverage in the village can be limited: it is a chance to disconnect and live simply, close to the community. This experience also means adapting to life in the village — sleeping on mattresses on the floor, eating Moroccan-style food, sharing a room with other volunteers, and being mindful of the belongings and personal space of everyone else in the house.

Food: two women from the village take care of the cooking and will prepare a delicious variety of Moroccan dishes and pastries. The menu is varied, healthy and made with quality ingredients; in case of allergies, intolerances or vegan/vegetarian diets, meals can be adapted to each volunteer’s needs.

Beyond the volunteering projects themselves, the program aims to support the local economy through actions that benefit the families of the village: renting the house year-round, hiring local people during the projects (cooking and cleaning), and buying food from local shops and small businesses in the village.

Excursions

One afternoon during the project you will take a trip to the city of Errachidia, where you can enjoy a swimming-pool afternoon and a walk around the city, getting to know other sides of Morocco. (This excursion is included in the program.)

Optional excursion to the Merzouga desert and the Todra Gorges (2 days) — not included in the project price. It costs €165 per person and includes breakfast, lunch and dinner (drinks not included).

Day 1 · Merzouga Desert: a 4×4 route through the desert, typical food (Berber pizza in Khamlia), a walk through the dunes and sunset watching, transfer to the luxury desert camp, traditional dinner with live Berber music, bonfire and dancing, night in a luxury tent under the stars, camel ride at sunrise, a visit to the traditional souk of Rissani, a fossil and sea-stone workshop, and the Ouled Chaker oasis.

Day 2 · Todra Gorges: transfer to one of Morocco’s most spectacular canyons, a walk on foot between rock walls up to 300 metres high, free time for photos and to enjoy the scenery, and the possibility of visiting Berber rug workshops in the valley.

The program includes

• Personalised pickup: each volunteer must book their own flight to Errachidia or Marrakech, where the local NGO takes care of pickup and transfer to the village (additional cost of €35/trip from Marrakech and €10/trip from Errachidia).
• Orientation and training on Morocco, local customs and the project you will be collaborating on.
• Accommodation at the Volunteer House.
• SIM card with 3G data.
• Three meals a day.
• Cultural immersion activities: Arabic classes, traditional henna tattoo, gastronomy workshop, visit and swimming pool in the city of Errachidia.
• 24-hour ongoing assistance, every day.
• Administrative costs.
• Certified contribution of €200 to the CiENViDAS project.
• International Volunteering Certificate from the CiENViDAS Foundation.

Volunteers arriving in Errachidia will be picked up on the start date of the project (according to their group) at the airport. Volunteers arriving in Marrakech who choose to travel overland to the village must arrive one day before the start of the project and spend a night in Marrakech (at their own expense; the association can recommend a trusted riad); pickup will take place the following day at Jemaa el-Fnaa square.

The program does not include

• Flight ticket.
• Morocco visa.
• Travel and medical insurance. (*)
• Transfer to the airport at the end of the program.

(*) TRAVEL INSURANCE: you need to take out travel and medical insurance for your peace of mind. If you prefer, we can offer you our special insurance for volunteers, with cancellation cover, for €82 (2 weeks).

Dates

Next planned intakes: 27 December 2026 to 3 January 2027 (Christmas) and 21 to 28 March 2027 (Easter). Confirm availability and the terms of your intake before booking flights. Read the Morocco volunteering guide for more about the program.

You may be able to deduct 100% of the €200 contribution to the CiENViDAS project on your next tax return in Spain (the base program fee of €350 is not tax-deductible).

Places are limited, so don’t miss this opportunity to live an experience with real impact, both for the Kasr Tarda community and for you.