Guided one week treks, Moroccan High Atlas

We run these holidays in close co-operation with a local charitable organisation, the AAZ. This means that while you are enjoying your holiday, you are also helping improve the lives of the inhabitants of the valley, without impacting negatively on a way of life which has changed little in thousands of years.

Below is our full environmental, social and economic policy for responsible travel in Zat Valley, High Atlas, Morocco.

Environmental policy

Our entire booking process is paperless and our brochures are printed on 100% recycled FSC approved material using renewable energy and vegetable oil based inks. Our printer, Severnprint Ltd, is one of the first British printers to achieve FSC certification and ISO14001 accreditation.

We only use local source water instead of bottled water. We discourage the purchase of bottled water. This reduces our carbon footprint as well as waste. We also provide antiseptic hand wash gel to allow our guests to wash their hands with minimal use of water, or in places where there is no access to water. We emphasise that water is a precious resource and not to be wasted with long showers or unnecessary use.

We do our best in terms of waste management and most of our waste is carried out on mules and the rest is burned or buried locally. Guests are instructed to bury human waste under ground, far from running water, to minimise the risk of giardiasis proliferation, for example.

Through the AAZ, we support local sustainability projects including reforestation, energy generation/preservation and water management schemes. During our treks, we take the opportunity to see the results of some of these projects. We will see water fountains and solar water heating panels installed and funded by the AAZ.

Two of the three gîtes we used for accommodation on these holidays are not connected to the grid and produce their own electricity using solar power.

We reduce carbon emissions by limiting transport where we can, and we use mules for transporting supplies within the valley.

Our holidays have a very strong focus on nature and the environment. Guests are made aware of the unique flora and fauna of the High Atlas Mountains. We make a specific point of talking about threatened species such as Lammergeyer and the reintroduction efforts concerning those species.

Social policy

To minimise the impact of tourism on local culture, we limits the group size to eight guests. We strongly encourage our guests to dress in a way that is appropriate locally, meaning wearing either long- or short-sleeved t-shirts and trousers that come below the knee. We also ask our guests to never photograph people without their prior consent.

We strongly discourage our guests to give money, pens, sweets, medicine, or other gifts directly to the local people (especially young children) as this could generate a culture of begging and dependency. We advise our guests to bring school materials (like pens and notebooks) and give them directly to the AAZ who then distribute them. Guests also have the option to make a financial contribution direct to the AAZ.

Through the AAZ, we support local social projects such as the construction of schools, projects aimed at improving literacy and projects focused on improving the lives of a number of widows in the valley.

During the week, we walk through villages supported by the AAZ and guests are made aware of exactly how the AAZ have contributed to living conditions and what could be done further to help the local population.

Economic policy

The local Berber guide, cooks, mules and their drivers are employed locally, via the AAZ, from the villages we pass through. Our food comes from local farmers in the valley (through the market in Tighdouine) and all profit generated by the AAZ goes back into local projects.

We support the AAZ by our custom and by promoting them through our marketing. In addition, part of our guests' holiday payment is channelled directly to specific projects on the AAZ agenda. With time, we will be able to follow-up on previous projects on location with future guests.

Furthermore, we encourage our guests to get involved with the AAZ and tell them how to make direct donations.

The AAZ

The AAZ, l'Association des Amis du Zat (or the Friends of the Zat valley), was founded in 1996 by Ahmed Bellaoui, then mayor of the valley. He is also a university professor of Geography, Tourism and Development at the University of Marrakech.

The founding of the AAZ sprung from numerous projects carried out by Caritas, an international Catholic charity, and the AAZ has several NGOs as partners which have contributed funding for an important number of projects.

In addition to specific projects aimed at easing life for the local population, the AAZ launched an "ecotourism" project in 2001, with the construction of three gîtes in 2001-2004. The AAZ promotes small-scale and sustainable tourism in the Zat valley through non-profit and professional partners, such as OutBreak Adventure Holidays.