Ecoprinting with Caroline Nixon
& 7 night Tour<br <br10="" -="" 24="" april="" 2024
10 - 24 April 2024
Cost £900 per person
plus (about £650) payable locally
The Venue Well known for magical meaningful holidays, excellent food and exceptional staff, our award-winning set up relocated in 2020 to a newly-created 1 acre site beside the town walls. Featuring a chlorine-free pool and permaculture gardens, the stunning sustainably-run Ecolodge enjoys sun all year round, having the best winter climate in Morocco due to its southerly setting in the fertile Souss Valley.
“A wonderful holiday. Its reputation is well-established, but it is now based at an amazing new sustainable, purpose-built ecolodge. .. exceeded our expectations (plus we are not normally fans of organised/group holidays!). Fabulous team, delicious food (including vegan), amazing accommodation, wonderful activities! Taroudant was a brilliant location to get a feel of authentic Morocco.” J Elmes, January 2020.
Places to Visit Taroudant is little visited by tourists, has shopper-friendly souks with an exotic traditional atmosphere. It lies between contrasting mountain landscapes: the majestic High Atlas and the extraordinary Anti-Atlas (beyond which lies the Sahara). And it is only an hour’s drive from the sandy, rocky and marshy habitats of the Atlantic coast.
Feel safe Thanks to the care of lovley English-speaking staff, good medical facilities, excellent WiFi, safe water as well as the town being small, relaxed and friendly with few tourists.
Heartful Holistic Holidays with a wide choice of other authentic activities including supporting charitable projects. Explore the fascinating culture with the help of delightful guides; option to explore, use our library or small spa, swim or laze in the sun or shade.
The People Enjoy the support of 11 charming, experienced, mainly English-speaking, Moroccan staff and the resident tutor for your chosen week. The Holidays with Heart UK team provide substantial pre-visit information and support based on 30 years’ experience of Morocco. Read more about our team here
Optional activities include crafts, cookery, language, visits to charitable projects, walking, wildlife, massage and several other choices run by the amazingly knowledgeable guides. Read more about our activities here
About the retreat Morocco is a feast for the eyes. Everywhere you look there is vibrant colour. We will be recapturing the same vibrant colours in our ecoprinted textiles. Using natural dyes, tannins, indigo, mordants and modifiers you will learn to extend your colour palette, for stunning results. We shall have a wide variety of exciting foliage to experiment with, and you will learn how to assess an entirely unfamiliar leaf, to bring out it’s best printing potential.
Your tutor Caroline is renowned for her clear teaching, her crisp colourful prints, and for innovative new techniques. Working in either indoor or outdoor spaces we will forage a rich and exciting array of plant material from the well-stocked garden, or from further afield, with the help of our knowledgeable local botanist Said.
This workshop is for experienced printers. If you are bundling confidently, getting clear prints, and understand how to use carrier cloths, then this will be the workshop to take your printing to the next level. If you are a beginner but would still like to attend, an option is to take Caroline’s online foundation skills course, which will give you the essential skills and techniques needed for this course.
We will work with a variety of dyes and tannins, alone and in combination, and we will spend time understanding how mordant dye and leaf influence each other. We will also spend time understanding how you can investigate a tannin or dye that is new to you, to learn how to use it to its maximum potential. We will work with both protein and cellulose fabrics.
Teaching will be geared to your own wishes and level of experience, and personal projects are encouraged and supported.
You can work on scarves, yardage or garments etc but we will not be working with paper. A detailed materials list will be provided.
Each day there will be half a day of formal teaching, with the other half free for independent studio time or to get involved in an exciting array of other activities.
We will work with a range of natural dyes and tannins, on both protein and cellulose fabrics. Teaching will be geared to your level and your needs, and individual projects will be encouraged and supported. You can work on scarves, yardage or garments etc. A detailed materials list will be provided.
You are welcome to bring a friend or partner who does not wish to print – there are extensive opportunities to do other activities.
Summary
Cost: £900 per person plus 8125 MAD (about £650) for the tour payable locally
Includes:
- Airport transfers from Agadir at one designated time
- Accommodation in en suite twin or double bedroom; single occupancy on request
- During the ecoprinting week substantial breakfasts and vegetarian evening meals (meat or fish at extra cost)
- Lunches every day except one, when lunch is an optional extra
- Tutored workshops
- During 7 night/8 day tour including accommodation, transport, guiding breakfast and meat/fish/vegetarian evening meals and transfer back to Agadir airport on the last day. Full details are given in the itinerary below.
Excludes:
- Flights (often under £70 return if booked early)
- Single occupancy supplement £20 per night
- Travel insurance (required)
- Tips
- Meat or fish supplement
- Tourist Taxes 41 MAD (approx £3.20) per person per night)
- £75 payable directly to Caroline for materials and online tutorials specific to this course
Options payable in Morocco:
See details of prices and choices
- Cultural experiences
- Excursions
- Supplement for meat or fish dishes
- Taxi transfers at a fair cost for those travelling at different times or places
Trip Advisor
Number 1 in the Taroudant Region 2023.
Best Holistic Ecolodge in Morocco 2023.
Voted Top 10 in the World: Lonely Planet Eco Stays 2014 & VegeNews Vegetarian Holidays 2005
Responsible Tourism Trophy for Community Project Work 2009
Photo: Caroline Nixon
To Book or Express an Interest: Limited places available. Request a place at www.cecu.co.uk/book We will then send you the payment schedule (split into instalments with £100 initial deposit).
Book early to get good flight prices, but please do NOT book flights until we give the go-ahead!
More Information For FAQs go to www.cecu.co.uk/faqs
Contact us: www.cecu.co.uk/contact or visit www.holidays-with-heart.co.uk
We will also send detailed pre-visit information after you book.
PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME In Taroudant
Each day there will be half a day of formal teaching and an option to continue with your ecoprinting or choose one of the many cultural experiences and activities on offer here.
Anything listed as “optional” means it is payable locally and not included in the price. Please see our price list for costs.
Day 1 Arrival Day – Our drivers meet you at Agadir airport late morning. Lunch, settle in, introductory talk and tour of the site. Optional Massages. Optional tour around town walls by horse-drawn taxi.
Day 2 Optional excursion to an oasis on the edge of the Anti Atlas Mountains.
Day 3 Optional cultural experience: cookery lesson; massages; experience our on-site solar powered hammam.
Day 4 Optional excursion: High Atlas Berber Villages – an insight into daily lives of villagers in the mountains with Rachid
Day 5 Exploring Taroudant. Optional cultural experiences: shopping in the souk; massages; experience our on-site solar powered hammam.
Day 6 Optional excursion: walking and wildlife in the High Atlas Mountains with Said.
Day 7 Optional cultural experiences: henna tattoos. Finish shopping. Lunch in town.
Day 8 Farewell to Ecolodge staff. Depart for the tour after breakfast.
WHAT DOES THE 7 DAY TOUR COMPRISE?
You will be reassured to know that all the people & places involved are well known to us and we know they can be trusted to deliver a great experience. Last year we had excellent reports of it.
You will be accompanied by Rachid, our driver/guide so transport will be available when required by the group for outings from each site although the hop on hop off bus is the best option in Marrakech
Coast, City & Atlas Mountains
Day 8- 11: 17 April : 4 hour scenic drive from Taroudant over Tiz N Test Pass via the semi-restored Tinmal mosque to Ouirgane Ecolodge or similar. 17 – 20 April: Stay in the High Atlas mountains (3 nights and 2 days to relax or walk and swim or go on outings by minibus, for example to Imlil at the foot of Mt Toubkal, the highest mountain in N Africa, from your base at Ouirgane Ecolodge)
Day 11-13: 20 – 22 April: 1 hour drive to the city Marrakech at a traditional riad – a courtyard house (2 bustling days)
Day 13-15: 22 – 24 April: 2.5 hours’ drive Essaouira, a walled town with a picturesque fishing port, staying at the superbly location Dar L’Oussia (2 days to explore or relax). 24 April: 3 hour drive back to Agadir airport for a morning flight.
Above: Ouirgane Ecolodge & Water seller at the Jemma el Fna square in Marrakech and a camel ride on the beach in Essaouira
COST includes transport:
1) from Taroudant to Ouirgane at the start of the week
2) to places of interest en route and near Essaouira & Ouirgane (but not in Marrakech where the Marrakech “Hop on Hop off” Bus is by far the easiest way to get to the sights – fairly priced and very practical. https://www.hop-on-hop-off-bus.com/marrakech-bus-tours
3) dropped at Agadir airport at the end of the week
4) bed, breakfast & evening meal. NB We have not included lunches but there will be the option of picnics provided by us on the first day at 60 MAD (under £5)
5) our driver/guide accompanying you (but not in Marrakech where you should use an official guide if you need one to do a long route through the souks– the hotel in Marrakech can locate a good one for you). For visiting sites the bus mentioned under 2 is easy to access & there is no need for a guide to accompany you.