It’s funny, I awoke a couple of weeks ago, it was stil dark but morning was in the air. For some reason, I felt sad. I’ve experienced many emotions up here in Loubar, but sadness hasn’t really been one of them. I’ve come up here when I’ve been sad, but invariably my being here has offered me a way out of that to feelings of contentment, happiness and a sense of being lucky that I can call this small patch of our world, mine.
As enough light crossed the mountain peeks from the still as yet unrisen sun, and I could see the clouds laying sleepily in the valley below, stars still glistening above and the intermittent croaking of waking cockerals and tired barking of still sleeping dogs, it dawned on me that this was the last week of my summer up in Loubar. That next week Finn would return and life, centered upon Fez would replace my “holiday” up here.
I’ve enjoyed every minute of being here and everything about it. I truly think I have made friends and feel part of a community. I speak to and am engaged with my neighbours on a daily basis, they have welcomed me, in many aspects looked after or out for me and in it all I am eagerly learning about the many strands of life that makes up the village of Loubar.
Image of Loubar.
One of the core components of this project was for it to be integrated within the local community and I believe it is.
Everyone working here is from, or has family in Loubar and most are immediate neighbours. As such all money from salaries is going back in to the local economy and it is the community who are building this project. Materials are bought in Xaouen and transported to Loubar, where Ghalli and his donkey train brings them in here.
Healthy Life styles…
We are introducing, discussing, modifying new eco technologies with local people who are in turn introducing their own technologies, local knowledge and ways of working and this combination is to the benefit of us all. This is horizontal advocacy live and direct from Loubar.
And I suppose the reason for my sadness, is that I know that, for a while, this time here must be curtailed…is that really sadness, or simply a knowledge that a time of such constant happiness has to end…until the next time?
Camp Kitchen.
And it really has been a time of great happiness and achievement especially, as I say, given that it has come from a winter that was so very sad…what a difference a year makes. Not only have I made good new friends, but it has been a joy to have a summer living and eating so well. A diet of seasonal fruit, veg and beans, all washed down with the most delicious spring water. No alcohol…OK a bit of pot…but very healthy living.
And I feel and look all the better for it…..I’ve even lost weight and built up muscle….what a difference to those first days pulling down the old ruin and digging out the land!
Life in a Bell Tent has been fun and pretty comfortable.
And then there has been a chance to experience living in a Bell Tent, which has both given me ideas for the glamping, but also proved to be a very comfortable existence…it really has been fun, tho I think that eventually either I’ll get Moroccan “Heimers” or modified yurts built on tiled platforms, some of which will have en suite bathrooms…for those who want to take glamping to another level. But at present we have the Bell tents and the yurt and they will do for phase 1.
We’ve made progress…the development of Mission Control.
As I sit here now I can see the progress that we have made. Of course (!?) it might not be that we finish everything nor get to where I had hoped for at the beginning, but we may have finished the Mission Control to the point that we can work on the interiors during the winter and with luck, it will be somewhere that I can stay when tents are less practical.
More progress…we’ll probably complete the shower/WC block ready to start glamping in the spring/summer.
Equally it looks as if we will complete the shower block and will have 3 different types of latrine (including 2 composting), recycled grey water and urine diverting systems, all feeding back in to gardens, with open to the sky showers and inbuilt trees…it could/should be beautiful.
Given that the glamp sites are ready, needing only “finishing” over the winter, which is to say the addition of some fences, lights and steps as well as some additional plants…this means that combined with a kitchen, office and place for a working team to live….we have the basis of a working glamp site, whch can earn money and add payment for the completion of the main house, which will, in all likelihood be finished next year. Tbh, I’m fine with that, I need to skirt around different places to look for ideas, designs…tho I have a few of my own already.
Preparing Mission Control for “Potrine”.
I like the idea that the original design of the ruin had the working animals living below and now the working area will be located in the same place, ”Upstairs -Downstairs” comes to Loubar.
But I’ve decided to use putrine as the ceiling/patio and given the changes that have occurred…what an amazing patio it will be. 5 x 16 ms of space to lounge and view both mountains, valley and Xaouen, G n T in hand……I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m looking forward to it.
Views of the terrace.
My visit to Khanfous Retreat last year, also informed me of the existence of casa Barata in Tangiers, a huge sprawling souk where I have managed to source doors for the bedroom patios and the shower block. Of course they need some work, but the fact is, we have them and this moves us on no end.
Doors from Casa Barata.
But whilst we may have made great advances, there is still so much more work to do. The changes in the design of the house and the introduction of an architect, has meant that we need to enlarge the floor space of the main house and doing this manually is and will continue to take a huge amount of time. I have moments when I wish I could get a digger on to the land and complete all this work in hours not weeks, but I can’t and for many other reasons, that’s fine.
Clearing land for the new house.
I’m not sure if we’ll manage to get the top house completed with walls and ceiling…more potrine and all the time that takes…but we’ll have a go….that’ll be Sept/Oct then….when hopefully I’ll be able to get water/sanitation and electricity in to Mission Control. If we do then we can work away during winter.
In any case we’ll be focusing upon redeveloping the gardens so that Farm Finn will be producing all it’s own food, oil, jams and ….”hams”, milk, eggs, cheeses and maybe a little distilled alcohol…umm, a fig liquer…or such like…maybe quinces?
The garden awaits the winter to develop it in to our self sustaining organic farm…..yum, yum, yum.
Outside of my own little world, lots of other things have been happening up in Loubar and of course part of that revolves around the imminent kif harvest.
This years harvest should be good…but at what cost.
It’s been interesting to see this process from planting to harvesting and the various conversations relating to water or quality of product. There seems to me plenty of opportunity to open up this discussion as part of a community dialogue and that is another area I am really looking forward to developing…God this is a great project!!!!
New Development in Loubar…a New Road is being Built.
But one of the major events over the past week, has been the beginning of a build of a new road where the current piste is. As I’ve said several times am not an advocate of road building up here, but the improvement of this piste wil benefit the whole community.
School buses might now take kids to/from school in xaouen, buses/taxis might be cheaper to take people and goods to souks, the price of many things related to transport may drop. And of course it means that tour companies can send their clients up to me on a lovely new road…..win/win….all year round!
So yes it’s been an amazing summer and I’m sad that it’s ending….but this is a very different Autumn to last year and I can’t wait to get back up here again….
And then I put on the i pod for a walk around the grounds and this popped up on the shuffle….too right!!!