High Atlas Mountains riad, Morocco
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
The kasbah site had to be excavated using hand tools as it is not possible to get large machinery up to the site. It has taken over 3 years to build starting in April 2008 to May 2011. During the first stage of the build I was pregnant with our son and had to oversee management of the whole project as I had drawn the plans and Mohamed sourced the local materials for ceilings buying it from local people who grow silver birch trees and thin white wood poles to sell a roofing material as it is known to be resistant to wood beetles. He had to translate for me with the builders as I could not speak the language.
The kasbah is built so it fits in to the landscape and the surrounding houses. We used stone from the site in the construction and even used the earth from the site in the building of the walls and the internal Berber Tadalaght coating before the white plaster is put on the walls. The rocks had to be broken up by hand. We have planted fruit and olive trees on the lower terrace. We have tiled the roof terrace so that we can use the rain water when there is rainfall rather than it being soaked into or washing away a mud roof. We sourced a solar water heating system in Marrakech and transported it using a local minibus. The windows, doors and iron work were all made in Telouet (just 17km away). Our plasterers came from another mountain village 2 hours walk away and our tiles were made in Marrakech but fitted by tilers from the village. We used traditional tadalaght plaster in the bathrooms and en ensuites. We have used beaten brass sinks and brass taps hand made in Morocco. As far as we could everything has been hand made and by as local a provider as possible.
We have notices in every toilet and shower detailing our water saving policy. We regularly work with villagers and village association to reduce , reuse and recyle waste. It is a long process as the main problem is that the type of waste has changed but the villagers are treating plastics, metal and paper, shoes etc. in the same way they have disposed of food waste for centuries when it was being eaten by the local dogs and cats, sheep, goats and chickens. We do regular clean ups with the villagers and volunteers helping out we seperate the waste for recycling and recyclables are taken away every couple of weeks by a van who comes up to purchase the recyclable waste. The mosque is also on board in reeducating the villagers on a regular basis which compliments our program regarding waste disposal very well.
Community
We have with the help of donations from Exodus and Baraka community partnerships and Homestays guests we have been able to get villagers to have medical investigations, operations and treatments they could otherwise not afford. We employ local people to help us with all aspects of the kasbah from the clearing of the site, the building, the plastering, the tiling, the terrace building, the woodwork, the ironwork, guest liaison, Berber music, cleaning the kasbah. We distribute donations of clothes, shoes, toys,medical kits etc. We provide emergency first aid as the closest medical clinic is 5km away and is often closed as the nurse is shared all the way to Ait Ben Haddou. The next nearest is Telouet. We have dealt with serious burns, cuts, abcesses, axe injuries,injurieis from mule kicks, split lips, bumps and bruises and so on. We are also often approached for problems relating to animal welfare. Dealt with injured mules, injured goats, sheep, injured dogs and cats and so on.
We use local muletiers, the local shop and local souk so spreading the benefit of tourism further afield. We encourage guests to visit local homes and have tea and cake, leaving a donation of cash for the woman of the house. We encourage guests to purchase locally made earrings, necklaces, bracelets and carpets providing an income for most often single or widowed mothers who are otherwise wholly dependent on the generosity and whims of male relatives. Guests purchase food parcel items at the local shop and take them to the poorest families.
We encourage guests to take walks with locals around the vilages and the valley and for treks and walks further afield we encourage guests to take mules and local qualified guides who have official guide cards. We recommend that guests visit restaurants in Telouet before coming up to Tighza as there are no such faciltlies in the village. We use several 4 x 4 drivers who are from the local area. We recommend guests arrive using the Tichka Express bus from Marrakech which is driven by one of the villagers, those arriving by hire car we ask to give 25dh per night to the guardian in the teleboutique at Animeter who stays with cars left down there. We ebncourage guests to use local taxis if they plan to visit Ouarazate after Tighza.
We work with Exodus and Baraka community partnerships in all our project related work in the villages, We have improved 2 local schools with painting interior of classrooms, painting murals, painting desks and chairs, fitting new windows, replacing doors, providing weaving looms for carpet making, We have run day long medical clinics. Had an optical clinic visit the village which will return in 2012 to see many more people, Many villagers have had operations, scans, treatments, dental treatment and eye surgery and glasses thanks to these projects which we manage at a local level. We have built a water tower which the villagers have contributed towards, built a wall around the school in conjunction with the village, replaced an repaird joints and water pipes, built a new water tower in 2009, We are currently building a hamam as most homes do not have their own shower or bathing facilities they wash using 2 bowls of water, 1 hot and 1 cold. We have understaken many catarct operations making important contacts with the nearest local specilaist hospital. We distribute clothes, shoes, toys, vitamins, medical kits and so on all of these are possible thanks to our work with the two charities. We have also been able to repair and improve the homes of many familes and elderly people who have neither the funds or the ability to do the work themselves.
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