Mid June has seen us trying to push on through to getting the old house down and the land leveled before the onset of Ramadan which is now daily refered to and which I am sure will be a real challenge.

The guys tell me that they will be working from 06.00 – 12.00 which I’d say is fine in the circumstances.

I’m really enjoying the new team and their general “togetherness”. It’s very different to the chantiers in Fez, everyone knows each other and mucks in meaning, for example, that we all contribute to lunch…I don’t know, the atmosphere just feels different.

Having met Hamid over a year ago, I am now working with many members of his family. Yayaa and his sister/brother, help out with the donkeys and Ghalli has now turned up in force, at last, so rocks and gravel is beginning to arrive on the land.

Obviously Mustapha and Waafi are other brothers, with yet another, Murad, also coming to work. Tbh, they are all pretty good workers and very honest with it, a very nice family in fact.

Whilst Mwalem Mohamed hasn’t started working yet, he is around most days, giving advice and guidance, such as how to sharpen my knives, in this instance.

I’ve had something of a brainwave recently, and have decided to start him working early, on the construction of the Glamping shower block.

This way at the very least we’ll have the glampsite up and running by the end of the year, which will mean some income…obviously it also means a whole mountain of planning and details; composting toilets, greywater use for gardens, solar or compost heated shower water, let alone the design of the block!!!

It also means that I need to design and cost the tents. I don’t think the Bell Tents are sophisticated enough and I think all should have ensuite loos and wash basins…..more designing!!!

But our newest team members are Flynn’s puppies. Of course neither have a name yet, and they are both so very different from each other.

The black one, a bitch, is loud, confident and seemingly unafraid of anything/one who turns up, day or night. The brown one though, a male, is so incredibly timid I think perhaps he’s either the runt or he’s had a nasty accident already.

Anyway suffice to say I’ve decided to try to keep them both, which is utter madness, especially given the noise they mae at night!!!

Most importantly though we have progress, with the end of the house, it’s easier to see what and where we can build.

There seems to already be a fare amount of leveling that has been done by Fuddles dad and I think this will define the greater part of the house design…watch this space.

It’s funny, I keep wanting to write whilst up on the land, at dusk or dawn, but just to try to say how wonderful this whole thing makes me feel.

This has been a difficult time for me, but this, this small project up here in the mountains feels so constructive, so good, so me; I’m glad that I’m (hopefully) going to be able to build something so beautiful at such a difficult time……

maybe I should keep that under my hat until I’ve something other than rocks and empty spaces to show!

Or maybe not. pxxxxx