What is Kasbah Itran?

Kasbah Itran is a journey that began in 2000 when a Berber family, the Taghdas, decided to join forces with two Spanish friends to set up a small accommodation initiative in what was at the time a ruined home overlooking the Mgoun River, near Kelaa Mgouna in southern Morocco. From the outset it was clear to us that the same conditions would apply to those joining the company: the initial investment to start up the project, the work required to keep it going and any profits would be shared equally by all the partners.

We are still applying the same approach in the promotion of new establishments in small villages like Megdaz, where we have adapted two rooms in a tardat in conjunction with the Hassou family. For travellers, this provides a chance for close contact with the real Morocco.

Do you see the real country when you are travelling?

The local people's friendliness and the fantastic landscapes often hinder our view of the real situation in the places we visit. This is particularly true on mountain treks through some of Morocco's most remote hamlets. Poor living standards for the local population often lie beneath the idyllic postcard scenes. Lack of healthcare, soaring illiteracy rates and harsh working conditions are part of the landscape that travellers ought to discover as well.

Do we have a negative impact?

Tourism is a powerful tool that can provide solutions for critical problems, but it can cause them as well. In recent years we have  witnessed profound  changes in small Atlas communities: an excessive proliferation of hotels, concrete buildings with no respect for the local architecture, and, on a much more serious level,  tourism, are all changing the behaviour of the population, especially amongst the most vulnerable sector: its children. Opening up areas to tourism where it barely existed before requires a serious commitment by the organiser and the traveller. The following recommendations will help you to avoid the mistakes that people often make due to misunderstood good intentions:

CHILDREN AND GIFTS: We suggest that you should not give anything to children, least of all money. The main reason is quite easy to understand:  How would we feel if a tourist came to our town and started handing out gifts indiscriminately to our children without asking for our permission beforehand? This type of behaviour also makes the traveller regarded as a “giving machine”, and in the process, loses the opportunity for a spontaneous relationship without expecting anything in exchange. The most serious side-effect is that it fosters the idea amongst children and adolescents that begging seems more worthwhile than working or studying.
HELP: If you want to help, the best way is to donate money through organisations that work in the country. If you do want to donate educational material or clothes, a good channel to do so are the local schools and, if you are on a trek, the mule drivers and the rest of the staff who accompany you.
PHOTOS: It might seem obvious, but... please ask for permission before you take a photo. Women are particularly sensitive to being photographed, for a very simple reason: they want to safeguard their privacy and prevent their photos from appearing in travel magazines, postcards or websites.
LANGUAGE: Learning some basic words in Berber allows you to greet people, thank them, say goodbye, etc. Download this practical vocabulary in PDF format.
BE NATURAL: The above-mentioned ideas are obviously not entirely inflexible: after a game of football with some village kids, inviting them to a soft drink or some sweets will do no harm. If you strike up a conversation with a family that has shown you how they make their own bread or work in the field, you will be welcome to ask them for a group photo

Can I get a  closer experience of the local culture?

There is nothing more useful for shedding stereotypes and prejudices than face-to-face contact: sharing tea, greeting people you meet as you walk through fields, joking with a group of children or sharing bread fresh from the family oven with women all quickly break down those clichéd cultural barriers. At Kasbah Itran, all the activities we organize strive to maximize your opportunities for these types of  encounters

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