thanks

Karen

1. Economic Responsible Tourism: Impact on Local economy: A tourism organisation that has made efforts to change their impact on the local economy.

2. Environment Responsible Tourism: Water Conservation: A tourism organisation that has implemented a water conservation program that has resulted in a reduction in water usage, changes to the way water is used or the reuse of water.

3. Social Responsible Tourism: Child protection: A tourism organisation that has helped prevent child abuse, worked to increase child protection or contributes to child protection in some way.

4. Responsible Tourism Campaigning: A tourism organisation that has used campaigning to raise responsible tourism issues with consumers.

5. Best Destination for Responsible Tourism: A destination that sees itself as responsible, previous winners include Roros in Norway and Nuture, Lakeland in UK.

6. Best Wildlife Responsible Tourism: A tourism organisation that offers responsible wildlife experiences.

7. Creative contribution to Responsible Tourism in photography: Open to amateur photographers who can submit their photos of responsible tourism in action.

We repaired the broken water tank that had cracked from months of disuse and now the water is flowing into village – in a good way! Next project we tackle will be the removal of rubbish, some left by tourists which makes me rather depressed…

March also saw the completion of our new rooms, 4 en-suite rooms set around an internal courtyard, it is a place of tranquility and keeps out the sandstorms quite nicely!

The weather is warming up and that means more winds are blowing but it makes for a beautiful clean landscape once it abates.

There is a new member of our team, Safi, a small puppy of indeterminate breed, but he will grow to be quite a large dog I think.

We sadly said farewell to Alice Bleby who, after just under three months, had made a place for herself at Tissardmine and was totally indispensible to me. She will be back!

Unfortunately, I cannot post photos so please visit www.facebook.com/cafetissardmine for some visuals

Thank you one and all

Karen

It has been a glorious winter at Tissardmine, quite mild but have to say the ugg boots came in handy at night.

I am in the throes of finalising the programme for late 2013/2014 so if you have any ideas for residencies or want to participate in any of our programmes – get in touch…more information to come but am happy to report that both Linda Cracknell and Jan Cornall will be back for another writing retreat each…

…

Yannick Charron

Café Tissardmine, c’est un lieu d’accueil dans un oasis face au désert.
A l’arrivée, une fois posés mes bagages et m’être délestée de l’inutile, je me suis laissée aller tranquillement à vivre au rythme des jours lumineux et  aux nuits à la magnifique voûte étoilée.
J’ai suivi la lumière qui effleure les dunes et fait scintiller les pierres.
De formes et de grains différents, ces pierres sont polies et façonnées par le sable et le vent qui laissent à leur surface, la trace de leur passage comme une écriture naturelle.
C’est dans cette atmosphère de quiétude et loin de l’actualité des hommes que je me suis installée dans l’atelier réservé aux artistes résidents.
Avec le sable orangé-doré de la grande dune de l’Erg Chebbi, j’ai réalisé un ensemble de sept coupes. Les tapissant de papier aux différentes nuances de bleu, j’ai évoqué le bleu du ciel dans son cycle quotidien, tels que le gris bleuté de l’aube, le bleu lumineux de la pleine journée, le bleu léger et transparent de la fin d’après-midi, le bleu profond du soir, le bleu presque noir de la nuit…
Travail, promenades, croquis dans mon carnet de voyage, lectures, se sont alternés en un rythme tranquille, ponctué  par des repas simples et savoureux, sur des tables dressées avec goût qui réjouissent l’œil autant que les papilles, et donnent lieu à des moments de convivialité et d’échanges.
Karen et Youssef ont réussi à faire de Café Tissardmine un Eden où il fait bon vivre et créer.

CAFE TISSARDMINE

Café Tissardmine, a place of welcome in an oasis looking out on to the desert.

On arrival, having put my bags down and divested myself of the useless, I let myself go tranquilly, to live by the rhythm of the luminous days and the nights of the magnificent starry vault.

I followed the light that brushes the dunes and makes the stones sparkle. Different shapes and grains, these stones are polished and fashioned by the sand and the wind, which leave on their surface the traces of their passing like nature’s script.

It is in this atmosphere of quiet and far from the reality of mankind that I settled myself into the studio reserved for resident artists.

With the golden-orange sand of the big dune of Erg Chebbi, I created an ensemble of seven dishes. The paper lining in different shades of blue, I evoked the blue of the sky in its daily cycle, from the grey-blue of the dawn, the luminous blue of full day, the light and transparent blue of the end of the afternoon, the deep blue of the evening, to the blue that is almost black, of the night.

Work, walking, sketching in my travel journal, reading, alternated in a tranquil rhythm, punctuated by simple and tasty meals, on tables laid with a taste that delights the eye as much as the tastebuds, around which arose moments of convivia

lity and exchange.

Karen and Youssef have successfully made Café Tissardmine an Eden in which to live and create well.

It’s been a lot of comings and goings at Tissardmine, Visual artist Yannick Charron, came as artist in residence for a week and created some beautiful work in response to the changing colours and moods of the land over the course of a day. Using the sand from Erg Chebbi, Yannick made an installation of “bowls” (a picture will be posted soon!) and made a special one-off for us to keep…thank you!

So, we now await the arrival of  the next writing retreat group with Jan Cornall, not long to go now…

The booking deadline for Monica Suswin’s retreat Feb 08 – 17 is January 15 so get a wriggle on and book now and tae advantage of the current offer of 20% off…

Bionics Excursion, Cafe Tissardmine 19 – 27 March 2013

Cafe Tissardmine is proud to be hosting a 7 day bionics program led by Professor Ingo Rechenberg of the Technical University of Berlin. This program is open to not only scientists but also people with an interest in desert research and bionics.

The price is 1199Euro per person excluding flights into and out of Morocco.

Accommodation is half board (breakfast and dinner) twin share, but if you wish to book a single room for the week, this is possible. A single supplement will be charged.

Commencing March 19, you will meet at Casablanca Airport where a bus will take you the 600Kms to your accommodation at Cafe Tissardmine and the nearby bionic research station. The station laboratory is well equipped with microscope, night vision instruments and a Newton telescope with automatic focus.

The program includes night time dune hikes to see the Tabacha, the rolling or somersaulting spider that is unique to this region; collecting fossil and finding meteorites  and ancient artifacts and of course star gazing.

Some background to the region

Some 350million years ago, this entire region was under the sea, the remains of which can be seen in the petrified coral reefs along the dry river bed at Tissardmine where ammonites, trilobites and belennites abound.

On 18th July 2011 a meteorite from Mars landed 350kms from Tissardmine, it is still possible to find small fragments from this meteorite.

Ancient local rock cravings depict Rhino, Giraffe and Elephants.

Erg Chebbi, the giant dune that dominates the landscape was formed over thousands of years and today stands at 150meters at it’s highest point and is 20kms long and 5kms wide. This natural phnomenon is steeped in legend; the story goes that more than 5,000 years ago there was a large lake where families lived, but these families were bad people who angered the gods. As a result the gods sent a strong wind that brought so much sand, the lake disappeared and as each year passed more and more sand built up to create a giant network of dunes burying the people beneath. Locals say that on a quiet night inside the dunes, if you listen carefully, you can still hear their voices…

In the daytime, you are most likely to see Camels, donkeys, goats, sheep and other domestic animals roaming the landscape but at night the desert comes alive as the smaller creatures come out from their subterranean sand bunkers to hunt in the cooler temperatures; the sand fish, sidewinder snake, desert fox, jumping mouse, rolling spider, long finger gecko and gerbil.

For more information and registration go to www.staedteundmeer.de

having arranged all the accommodation in Marrakech and Fes and booked the taxis, all I had to do was wait. No-one had mobile phones and all were arriving from different points in and out of Morocco, Malaga via Chefchouan, UK via Marrakech, Australia via Casablanca so one in a taxi, 2 by bus, and one by train….no idea of when they would get into Fes so no-one to meet them, I crossed my fingers…insha’allah they would find the Riad Rcif. They did…

Hassan the taxi driver picked them up early on the Saturday morning and I got the call they were on their way. We met them 8 hours later at the “hostage handover point” as we have come to know the place a few kms out of Rissani where the piste meets the asphalt.

We loaded the party into the land rover and sped off toward Tissardmine in a desperate bid to get them there before sunset. It had been quite windy that day and there was a sandy haze across the horizon but that did not dampen the spirits of the travellers – they didn;t know any different, this was desert, the frontier, no man’s land, except the berbers. Youssef, resplendent in lime green turban and warm winter djellaba smiled quietly as he drove and listened to the questions coming from the back seat and my attempts to answer them.

We arrived at dusk and carried their luggage to the tents which by now were dark enough to look romantic in the glow of an ikea solar light, but not really handy for unpacking. So tea was served and after oohs and aahs (the tents have bathrooms!?) the en-suites were tried out, torches found, essential unpacked…so far so good…

Dinner was Khalia, a meaty tagine that is the speciality at Tissardmine, at least it is when cooked by Youssef…which it was…it was just before dinner we discovered a closet vegetarian or two in the company, a vegetarian tagine was quickly assembled – I must remember to get people to tell me if they are veggo – its not easy in such a meat based culture – but on this occasion it was not a problem as it transpired as the word strict before the word vegetarian was not used.

After a few pre bedtime jitters from one of the number (too quiet, too dark) and a hot water bottle of comfort provided, they all bedded down to a good night’s sleep.

Sunrise brought the promise of a beautiful day, and as it happened, a beautiful week was also ahead of us, spiritually, emotionally, meteorologically.

Rituals were quickly established, morning tea at sunrise followed by breakfast in the camp and a walk before the morning session began around the Fasi blue and white zellij table under the verandah. Coffee, peanuts, olives and water were the staples between meals. I generally joined them for lunch round the table in front of our nomad tent which gave me time to check in to see how they were going and make plans for the next day’s activities.

The afternoons were generally “free time” but also an opportunity for people to have a one on one session with Linda.

At seven in the evening, we would gather in the Salon and for an hour enjoy a reading or once, a session of writing Haiku based, of course, on their thoughts about and experience in, the desert.

a lone palm tree grows

green fronds fingering the blue

sky is all around

debra mor

After three nights at Tissardmine, that included a brief sunset trip to Erg Chebbi, it was time to go much further afield and early one morning we drove them to the dunes to collect their camels and head off for a day of walking and talking, riding and writing.

Back at the base, Youssef and I had a moment to relax and clean up before heading off to set up the satellite camp for the night. Firewood, drums, blankets, enough food for an army, some beer and wine in the cooler, all was good. Actually I confess, we forgot the drums so after cleaning the camp of the inevitable sand, youssef put a beer in my hand and drove back to get the instruments. I headed up the dune to watch them arrive and as I saw them appear in the distance, I yelled a ululation (well, as best I could) and later was told that they had been watching the dunes I was on and thought they were huge until I stood up and looked like a giant in comparison…perspective is tricky out here.

Tired and sore but inspired and refreshed, we feasted on meat cooked on the embers, potatoes buried deep within and sipped our welcome beers.

racks of slaughtered goat

balance on rocks, red embers

lighting grease-lined lips

Karen Hadfield

Some more family arrived and the drumming began and went deep into the night until exhausted we all cloaked ourselves in blankets to ward off the chill of the night and slept until first light.

loud thrumming of drum

unintelligible clash

and chat break silence

KH

sand wind-raked into

ripples. the flicker of a

camel’s eyelashes

LC

Tea brewed, sunrise observed, thoughts collected and it was back on the camels for the short journey back to Tissardmine and a lunch of rice and bibi.

Black olives on sand

Follow the camel’s footsteps;

Hungry insects feast.

RB

Dinner served and eaten by 9pm and that, it seemed was bedtime.

Next day was another field trip, this time to Rissani to visit the markets and purchase those all important souvenirs and gifts for those left behind. Always exhausting, I am not convinced it was such a good thing to do. It upset the rhythm and peacefulness but these things we learn as we go…

And then suddenly it was the last day. At seven that evening, we lit the fire outside and sat and chatted about how we all thought it went. I had handed out an evaluation form for them all to fill in and am happy to report we got 10/10 from everyone for each question about overall experience, food, comfort and service. Youssef was delighted.

The reading that night was a piece that each of them had written during their stay here and a very special piece written by all of them for me…

The Tissardmine Chest 

for Karen

 We will put in the chest

A black stone inlaid with an ancient fish,

a sizzling tagine spiced with our friendship,

the laugh of a camel as it flies through the night.

We will put in the chest

The first ripening olive on a young tree,

your footfall between tents as you carry morning tea,

A cricket piping to the stars

We will put in the chest

The fragrance of a black rose,

a blessing from a weary traveller,

and a hug from a dear friend.

We will put in the chest

moon shadows – guests at a desert party,

a saharan drumbeat under a roaring sky,

the small things way-marking our way home.

The chest is emblazoned with crimson tatters

and lined with milk and honey.

Its hinges are the bones of camels

You can open the chest

to warm yourself on cold nights,

and soar together over violet shadows

on shifting sands

 LC, RB, DM, SO 23 November 2012

 and then at 8am the next morning, they were gone. Off to Marrakech for a final meal together. And I miss them.

 I will miss hearing their intense silence interrupted by gales of laughter, their easy going attitudes and their love and respect for Tissardmine, the desert and the people who inhabit it.

Gibbous moon rising

farewells across shifting sands

small things pointing home.

SO