Women only tour in Morocco

Planet

Whilst using public transport is the most sustainable way of travelling, in Morocco it’s not always possible to. Aside from good train connections between major cities, it’s often tricky to reach more rural and remote places by bus or train. Although we only use private transport on this trip, we do our utmost to ensure our vehicles are the right size for our small groups. For instance, we wouldn’t opt for a 16-seater van if we only have five people travelling with us. Another great way to minimise the effect of our transportation on the environment is by walking and avoiding the use of fuel altogether. From the third to the sixth day of this tour we only travel on foot, which allows our travellers to become fully immersed in the local culture.

We also encourage passengers to use refillable water bottles and our leaders will suggest purchasing bigger bottles of water to store in our vehicle whilst on the road.

With the help of our Moroccan suppliers, we also contract local specialists to run all our activities on this adventure. Before signing them up, we’ll always make sure that these individuals share our philosophy and stance on important environmental issues. Therefore, you can be sure that your local guide will never contribute to the problem of waste management.

People

This women’s only expedition is designed to bring different worlds together. Allowing females from various backgrounds to participate in many activities, some of which are only accessible to women because of local customs and laws. By taking part in a Berber makeup workshop, helping out with every day activities such as farming and Moroccan breakfast preparations, travellers and hosts will have a great opportunity to learn from one another.

A very important change we’ve started to implement in Morocco is the rise in female leaders. Until now there was literally a handful of qualified female leaders and only one qualified female mountain guide in the whole country. But by putting some pressure on the authorities, we were able to enrol more female leaders in official courses scheduled and run by the Moroccan government. This enables us to assure this profession is becoming open to the women of Morocco. It’s also worth mentioning that this expedition is always run by a female tour leader, which wouldn’t have been possible a few years ago.

This trip is entirely managed by our Destination Management Company in Morocco, who live and breathe our environmental values. For instance, they recycle in their offices (something that isn’t currently common practise in Morocco), hold clean-up treks in the Atlas Mountains and host volunteer days in villages around Marrakech to help build water channelling systems for the local communities living there.

The region of Morocco we’re travelling through remains very traditional, unlike cosmopolitan Marrakech, industrial Casablanca or the north of the country. Therefore, it receives less tourists. This means it’s important for travellers to understand how to behave in such an environment and how to show respect to the local communities and their traditions. We pre-educate women travelling on this trip as what to wear, what to expect from local culture (i.e. bargaining) and customs (i.e. baksheesh – tipping). We also explain how to behave during the most important religious festivals and periods in order to show respect (i.e. Ramadan, Eid Al Adha). However, the most important way to show respect is to have a local leader on each departure. Someone who acts as a bridge between western females and local communities. Someone who understands both worlds and can help to bring them together in the most responsible way. And most importantly a female leader who will also understand the specifics of such a special expedition.