In Ourika (Morocco), floods carry wastes that pollute the water of the wadi. Design thinking and Facebook were chosen to accompany Moroccan women in the resolution of the water problems. Design thinking promotes user needs analysis and rapid prototyping. Facebook facilitates the collaborative definition of problems and solutions. The purpose of the research was to evaluate the potential of design thinking and Facebook as approaches to climate change education. At workshops and in Facebook exchanges, 12 women shared their experience of floods and studied the water and waste problems. They prototyped and experimented with hand-held filters for water cleaning and with waste reuse techniques. According to them, they improved their «awareness» of climate change impacts. Their technological and geographic «knowledge» grew as well as their problem-solving «skills» and «self-efficacy». Women achieved the goal of «participation» by operating an electronic flood warning system, making hand-held water filters, making compost and recycled jewellery, and starting a waste reuse cooperative.

Authors: Diane Pruneau, Abdellatif Khattabi, Boutaina El Jai, Maroua Mahjoub