Map of Interviewees

The markers on this map of Morocco indicate the areas in the Medinas and outside the cities of Fes, Meknes, and Rabat, accessed during fieldwork and for which visual data and interviews have been generated. Each marker corresponds to an interview and to the visual material produced, which is showcased on the webpage with selected fieldwork material.  The fieldwork has gathered 25 interviews, across cities, suburban areas/farms, tanneries, and the narrowest streets in the Medina of Fes, where informality matched with the normalisation of 

As for selected material produced,  this has related to i) the urban architecture of informal business, ii) the agricultural sector and farms, iii) the connection between water and informal activities, in this case, the case of tanneries and the related water; and iv) the gender dimension in informality and the case of women-led cooperatives and thus gender in informality.

During interviews with workers, participants were asked questions about their backgrounds, the positive aspects and challenges of working in the black economy, their working hours, the future of cooperatives, the role of women in black markets, the lack of social security, the formalisation of sectors, everyday struggles, and the importance and challenges related to water in the country.

This aspect was explored using a combined approach that also included key profiles, among them a water engineer. For the first time, this approach has given these individuals a voice, shedding light on the complexities and paradoxes of the informal economy and the challenges and efforts regarding the structural barriers to formalisation, despite the process of industrial and economic modernisation. 

By taking a bottom-up approach and combining fieldwork with a closed-door roundtable held at Science Po Rabat, this pilot project goes beyond academia, aiming to reach a wider audience, including non-experts, policymakers, and stakeholders.