I have to say there really is something special about being up here in Loubar in winter. Of course it’s freezing, especially at night. But the sky can be such a gorgeous blue and the air so fresh, the grass (where I have it!!) green and there’s that wonderful sound of rushing water, now the rivers are so full.

And don’t get me started on the full moon!

I’m getting quite excited at the prospect of finally putting in plants. Trees, lots of trees. And vines.  And of course a whole variety of fooding plants. I’ve more or less planned out what I want, where, why. It’s not concrete, but I’ll order my trees after Xmas, dig holes and fill them with compost, which will need to sit for a while and “cool down”, and then, around Feb, we’ll plant.

Of course there are fences to be built and final decisions to be made, but the land increasingly looks ready…I’m ready anyway…..time to design and order the chicken tractor!

One of the final bits of building on the land is the reed bed system, which Alex has been helping to design. We planned for him to come up for a weekend and do something akin to training of masons in the use of fero concrete, and show the design of the system we are putting into place.

Unfortunately as with so many first trainings, time got lost; arriving, rounding up missing bits of materials, shoveling and preparing. In the end I’m not sure that Wafi and Mohammed really got what we were trying to show. But I did, which will help. However one big bit of learning was the need to ensure much more time and preparation to undertake a training up here. Ultimately I think the reed bed system will be set up in spring, when we can guarantee better weather for longer.

As it happened we got so far with our first bed and had to react to the onset of another week of torrential rain. As such Wafi and Mohammed came to the rescue with old school ways of working, which only reinforced the looming question marks about what the odd goweries are trying to do….we’ll wait till spring to complete that sentence.

In general though there’s been a ton of rain this month so finishing the work in the garden has been put back. In the mean time I have managed to make a few more contacts with local agencies involved in climate change and agro ecology. This is good and I’m looking forward to actually being able to “work” together….and have something to work with.

But the big news is that I finally had my meeting with the Governor, which included meeting with Regional Directors of Agriculture, Tourism, Investment etc amongst others, including from Bab Taza. We were asked to await until this group had had an initial meeting to discuss the case of Farm Finn. Of course despite having sent everyone a copy of the dossier, I was asked to provide copies on the spot, which was impossible.

Important people mulled about looking at files and making covert comments to each other. “Sullivan”, “Loubar”, “Gauri”, “Terrain Agricole”, were amongst the slither of conversations I heard and then the group disappeared in to a conference room with the Governor ad I was asked to wait outside until they had discussed my case.

Perhaps half an hour later I was asked to enter and to take a seat next to the Governor, who of course sat at the head of the table. Appreciating this was the hiatus of almost 18 months of lobbying and that under normal circumstances I would still be a Gauri trying to build on agricultural land, I was primed with arguments to support my case, against the odds.

And then the Governor spoke to say that despite this, I was the owner of the land, the government was promoting external investment and diversification of local economies and I should be able to begin my project.

Quite missing the point and the victory, I was asked to respond and did so to explain what success we had already had in reducing kif production, promoting local employment and traditional skills, within a future based in an agro ecological approach to farm land management. In doing so I used the word “kif” several times.

It was only afterwards that I was informed that the mere word “kif” was taboo at this level of government. “We don’t like to talk about it” I was advised later.

In itself a very informative lesson.

But, “Bref” as they say, I am now in the hands of the Regional Director of Tourism following a “Process Verbal” from the Governor, that I should take my project forward. The RDT has advised me, that following the opening of the first “Ferme D’hote” in Ouazzane, mine should be the first in Xaouen.

Which is a great New Years present to begin 201 with!!!…..now that’s what  call a great end to the year, opening the prospect of a very exciting new year.