An Alternative Model for Rural Women Cooperatives in the MENA Region: The Case of Arbaa Mesti, Morocco

This proposal provides design solutions for rural women’s workspaces in secluded areas of the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. In particular, I offer a prototype, set in the remote village of Arbaa Mesti, Morocco. The village has already accommodated women’s cooperative workspaces with modest, inefficient, and un-functional structures. My design solutions confront existing obstacles by providing new functions such as integrating public, semi-public, and private spaces by interweaving different types of experiences. The complex as a whole will create opportunities for flexible indoors and outdoors functions. While self-sufficient in and of itself, the complex will also uphold a sustained life and economy within the larger Arbaa Mesti community.