Imlil and Ourika Valley walking holiday, Morocco

Planet

CARBON REDUCTION

We encourage our customers to not use internal flights and help them understand that Morocco is small and easy to navigate overland.
We usually use private transportation to go to and from the remote parts of this tour and make a point of including lots of walking tours with local guides in Marrakesh, Imlil, and Ourika.

During the trip we use our new eco-friendly transport as much as possible, which uses AdBlue (a diesel exhaust fluid used in vehicles with Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology to reduce harmful gases being released into the atmosphere). AdBlue is a 32.5% solution of high-purity, synthetically manufactured urea in demineralized water.

We inform our customers to pack as lightly as possible, as heavier luggage uses more fuel during transport. We also ask our customers to turn down/off the AC/heat and other electronics before they leave the room. This is a big opportunity to support real local nomads.

On this tour food is local and vegetarian options are available.

ENVIRONMENT AND WILDLIFE:

During our trip we include accommodations that are restoring nature in and around the property. We include accommodations that have solar panels to make the water hot, like Riad Dar Nadwa. These accommodations also have rooftop plants for pollinators. During the trip we stop at the local villages to interact with locals and take in breathtaking views of villages and landscapes, and you may support neighborhood organizations.

We believe it is our obligation to uphold regional traditions, assist neighborhood organizations, show consideration for the environment, and save wildlife. We work hard to arrange trips that benefit the destination as well as our guests by introducing them to new cultures and unique experiences. This is accomplished by helping locals and their communities and contributing to provincial initiatives wherever we can.

We take environmental issues seriously and are aware of the catastrophic harm and global effects that plastics cause to the ecosystem. That’s why we gather all the used plastic bottles during the trip and we stop at the nomad areas to give them those bottles to reuse them on their needs. And this is the big opportunity to support real local nomads.

People

LOCAL ECONOMY
During the trip we support local producers and encourage customers to buy Moroccan hand made products like pottery, jewelry and crafts.
Additionally, we always aim to host our customers in Moroccan local guest houses and Riads like Auberge Atlas Dades, Riad Dar Nadwa and Riad Fez Mahal.
They are all locally owned and operated, sometimes in somewhat isolated locations, and provide essential jobs to the local population.

EMPLOYMENT, INCLUSIVITY AND DIVERSITY
By hiring locals, we intend to support as many local people as we can during the trip. Our customers interact with our local tour leader, local representative, tour guide, porter, driver, and other local staff. One of the most important things that we are proud about is that we have integrated women to work with us during the trip as tour guides. We also have the chance to visit local women cooperatives, for example The Women's Carpet Cooperative (Tapis Aicha et Zahra) in Todra and an Argan oil women's cooperative on the way of Essaouira (Cooperative D'Argan Marjana).
The tour leader, local representative and guide inform our clients on relevant sustainability matters in the destination that we need to protect, such as cultural heritage, social norms and values.