Children play in Ait Sghir village in the High Atlas region of Morocco.

The High Atlas mountains in Morocco are home to several Berber villages where inhabitants do not have electricity, paved roads or access to doctors and make their living from farming and making and selling olive oil and pottery.

Reuters photographer Youssef Boudlal travelled to the High Atlas mountains to document the lives of the Berber people.

Berber women weave traditional carpets in the village of Ait Sghir in the High Atlas region of Morocco.

Children watch TV in their house in Tilmi village in the High Atlas region of Morocco.

A woman smiles as she warms herself near a fire at her home in Tilmi village.

With the help of a Berber guide, they travelled to the village where people live far from the comforts of modern life.

It took a ten-hour drive from Casablanca to get to the mountain range and another five hours of hiking, with mules carrying bags, to get to the village.

The inhabitants farm and herd cattle, and make and sell carpets, honey, olive oil and pottery.

A boy warms his feet by a fire in Ait Sghir village.

A woman prepares bread in her doorway in Ait Sghir village.

A woman mourns her donkey after discovering it had fallen ill and died in Ait Sghir.

The villagers have no electricity, running water, paved roads or schools. Children have to walk for five hours to get to Tilmi, the nearest village with a school.

"Walking through the village was like stepping into the past. Some women were carrying water from the river, others were cooking in traditional outdoor ovens and all around children were playing in the dirt with no toys to speak of," describes Youssef Boudlal.

Berber men transport food and goods on mules between villages in the High Atlas region of Morocco.

Berber men return home after transporting food and goods between villages in the High Atlas region of Morocco on mules, as the paths are too rocky for vehicles.

Villagers try to find a mobile phone network signal at Ait Sghir village in the High Atlas region of Morocco.

They live in a beautiful place, but a hard one to live in, nonetheless.

There is no hot or drinking water, no electricity, and no schools.

It takes almost four hours for villagers bring water on the backs of their mules. They keep it outside in a container alongside their food; there are no fridges.

Women hold their babies as they keep warm by the fireside in the village of Ait Sghir.

Bari Moumouch, a 20-year-old Berber mother, walks with her baby on her back in the village of Ait Sghir.

Bari Moumouch plays with her baby in the village of Ait Sghir.

According to the United Nations, extreme weather fluctuations and erosion that causes flooding and landslides have led to a drop in agricultural productivity in the area.

"We might tend to focus on the villagers’ lack of basic amenities but, at least for me, when you live with them you can feel their happiness even if they live under difficult conditions.

"In their speech, you will find no complexity, no clutter. Sometimes I wonder; who is better off, really?"