11.11.11 Water = Life: A Special Celebratory Event

Nov 8, 2011 – Nov 15, 2011

This event will be based at Dar Sidi Bounou, near M’hamid El Ghizlane, Province of Zagora in the Draa Valley, which is on the margin of the palmeries and dunes of the Sahara Desert of Morocco, an area of spectacular beauty and enduring traditions, but with a fragile and vulnerable ecology that has been seriously affected by a prevailing drought.

Water = Life is organized by eco warrior and musician Allal Yamine and hosted at Dar Sidi Bounou. Group seminars will take place at Dar Sidi Bounou, with other events in the villages nearby. Celebrations will take place everywhere.

This event is a non-profit, non-commercial series of informal seminars to stimulate and encourage discussion of environmental matters, particularly the problems associated with WATER. It will be a holiday that is fun and relaxing, but also one that has a purpose and presents an opportunity for those with an interest in these matters.

Any profits made will go to support the water projects in the local villages.

Local and regional associations will be present, and local authorities will be invited. The ideas and recommendations will be documented for presentation to the authorities.

If you want to find out more, look at our website www.darsidibounou.com, or to take part, contact Allal at madnomad@live.co.uk.

Mad Nomad Adventures are created in collaboration with each individual group of guests to avoid the beaten tracks and forge new paths to unique holiday experiences where anything is possible. Cultural exchange is at the heart of the program, combined with a relaxing holiday experience. Spontaneity is the name of the game and a basic framework of activities will allow plenty of time for serendipitous exploration and fun.

An early morning camel ride and breakfast in the dunes may be followed by a refreshing dip in the local irrigation canal, a Berber cookery lesson or an invitation to tea in a local home. We liaise regularly with local people to develop new experiences for our guests.  We are also able to cater to those with special dietary, mobility or other health needs.

We specialize in granting your wishes, so tell us your desert dreams and we will do our best to make them a reality. MadNomad holidays are not for those who need a timetable and a checklist to enjoy a holiday. This is not a sanitized poolside experience for those simply looking to hit the tourist hot spots. We cater to travellers who want to experience real Moroccan life. Other tour companies will help you to see the country, but we will make you fall in love with it.

Allal Yamine, the original MadNomad, has an interest in the arts and an extensive knowledge of Moroccan and Berber culture and history, with a network of contacts stretching across the country. The 20 years he has spent between the UK and Morocco has made him sympathetic to European sensibilities and fluent in a variety of languages. These qualities put him in a unique position to work with clients, as friends, to develop activities to allow them an insight into Moroccan life, which they would be unlikely to experience otherwise. Allal is an experienced tour guide with a passionate interest in ecology. His starting point was to galvanise the local government to take action on uncontrolled rubbish disposal in desert areas. Now he wishes to share his knowledge of subsistence farming and water conservation with likeminded people.

Allal is particularly keen to develop international links between artists, musicians and performers. He originated and developed the Sahara Dance Gatherings in 2009 and 2010, working with visiting professional teachers to produce workshops and programs in cooperation with the local musicians and performers.

Last October he organized the 10.10.10 Caravan of Peace – a sojourn with camels into the desert dunes for a traditional feast and music around a bonfire, followed by star gazing, meditation, an all night vigil and a glorious sunrise celebration.

For more details, please contact Allal at madnomad@live.co.uk.

Water = Life In November 2011, Allal is leading a week’s expedition to the Draa Valley in the southeast of Morocco to experience how desert communities conserve and use a scarce and precious resource – water.

Water has a sporadic existence in this hot, dry part of the world. Sometimes it will rain prodigiously for whole day and farmers rush to plant a catch crop of barley with which to feed their sheep, goats and camels. At other times there may be a drought for seven years when the date palms, on which whole villages depend, die.

This trip will appeal to anyone interested in the geography of communities surviving on the fringes of viable agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. You will be visiting and talking to small subsistence farmers and seeing at first hand their methods of trapping, conserving and exploiting water. There will be an opportunity to visit the enchanting oasis of Fint in the Atlas Mountains, where the rain that falls on the arid mountain peaks drains into the valleys in a long chain of interconnected oases supporting an abundance of wildlife as well as whole farming villages.

The expedition starts in and returns to Marrakech reaching the Draa Valley (the Valley of the Kasbahs) by the spectacular route across the Atlas Mountains.

Moussem Aydoud:  Dec 30 & 31, 2011 to Jan 1, 2012

A revival of a historical tradition of the Berber tribes of the Draa Valley

Commencing in the 11th Century, the Moussem Aydoud was historically the most important festival of the Draa Valley. A celebration to symbolize the completion of the famous date harvest and the start of the new agricultural year, it was also a very useful stimulation to the local economy and a joyful commemoration of the Berber Tribes: Ait Alouane – Bounou, M’Hamid and Zagora; Zaouya Ouled Moussa, Zaouya Mouly M’Bark and Zaouya Sidi al Boudali.

This was one of the greatest historic events of the Bounou tribe. However, in the 1950’s, after repeated years of drought, the population began to migrate to the cities in search of stable income, so the important cultural tradition of the Moussem died out. In recent years, the region has been blessed with more rain and as the land turned greener, the people began to return.

We are now asking for help from local authorities, particularly the Moroccan Ministry of Culture, and international organizations to assist the return of the Bounou and neighboring tribes by reviving the Moussem in its original form as an annual festival.

For this three-day festival, a small group will represent each tribe of the Draa Valley. There will be food, folklore, fantasia and folk music. It will be an opportunity for people to connect with others from the region and further afield. The Moussem Aydoud will be held at Talmout in Bounou.

Events and workshops will include:

  • An Exhibition of Historical Photographs of Morocco, 1870  – 1950
  • Early colour film about the Ait Atta Berbers of the High Atlas
  • An exhibition space for the pottery and other artisanal
  • Advice and information on agricultural development
  • History of the Jewish period in Morocco
  • Health and environmental issues
  • Art and craft exhibitions
  • Workshops for women and children – and much more.

Aydoud or Ahidous is a Berber spectacle of music and dance with the use of hand drums, where there is an exchange of poetry between men and women; Zaouya means a meeting place for holy people and religious scholars and followers; Talmout means the Green Place.

For information, contact Allal at madnomad@live.co.uk