Where there's a will...

Despite the bad news in the last post, I was determined not to give up. We have been racking our brains for a solution to our “no planning permission” problem. One night a few weeks ago, whilst mulling over the situation for the nth time, I had one of those comic light-bulb moments.

No planning permission does not mean no accommodation, it just means no heavy construction. The original idea was to have a small central building surrounded by bamboo huts. The bamboo hut idea got forgotten as the main house grew substantially during the design process and left no space for the poor, meagre bamboo huts. I’d got so caught up in everything that I had forgotten my original idea of a natural, simple and sustainable retreat in the countryside. But now I realised I didn’t need planning permission, I could do it all with bamboo. Eureka!

All this finally dawned on me in late May, and I knew if I was going to follow this new route I would have to get down to it pretty quick. The peak of the tourist season in Assilah is during July and August. Therefore, there was no time to waste. I went back to Morocco last weekend to hash out a rough design, researched costs and availability of materials and staff. Despite all this energy and enthusiasm, I still wasn’t convinced that it was the best idea. The tourist numbers are quite dramatically down (around 40% in Assilah) on last year, we suppose due to general concern about the political stability in North African countries after all the recent events, and on top of that, a random terrorist attack in Marrakesh. Many would say now is not the best time to invest in a new tourism enterprise in Morocco in the area. The challenge is massive and the odds are against me…thus, I couldn’t not do it!

So, to give you all a general outline. The current plan consists of building three bamboo cabanas, a cafe/kitchen/private quarters cabana and a shower block. We are wildly optimistic about the time it will take to complete – 3 weeks. And we hope to open at the beginning of July. I will try and keep you updated on what will surely be a stressful, chaotic and drama-filled adventure. Feel free to comment, critique or cheer us on in our rural retreat conquest. I hope to get a website/booking facility up and running as soon as possible…so spread the word, the chic bamboo cabana camp is coming soon!

p.s. I’m flying out again in a few hours. I’ll try and get some good photos to show you.