Responsible tourism
A small agency with a simple rule
We live where you travel. The dunes, the gorges and the villages on our routes are not a backdrop for us — they are home, workplaces and neighbours. Travelling responsibly is not a label we bought; it is the only way a small local agency can keep running the same routes for fifteen years. Here is what that means in practice, in three honest chapters.
Our commitments for a responsible tourism
1. Limiting our impact on the environment
The desert forgives nothing: what is left behind stays. Our practical rules are unglamorous and non-negotiable — everything that comes into the dunes with us leaves with us.
On the road and at camp
- Large refillable water containers on board instead of piles of small plastic bottles.
- Waste carried back to town — nothing burned or buried at the camps.
- Vehicles serviced and shared between tours rather than multiplied.
- Camel rides at walking pace, with rested animals and loads kept light.
Honest about the footprint
A 4×4 in the desert burns fuel — pretending otherwise would be marketing. What we can do is fill the vehicle (private does not mean half-empty), plan routes that avoid pointless kilometres, and keep the night in a tent what it should be: lamps, blankets and stars rather than generators running for show.
2. Putting people first
Tourism is our region’s payroll. The fastest way to keep it healthy is to pay the people who do the work, directly and fairly.
How the money flows
- Drivers and guides are local professionals, paid agreed rates — not day labour found at the last minute.
- Nights are spent in Moroccan-run riads, guesthouses and family camps, booked at their price.
- Lunch stops favour village restaurants and cooperatives over highway chains.
- Your guide will tell you honestly where a purchase helps — and where a “bargain” hurts the maker.
Respect that goes both ways
- We brief travellers on dress and photography customs before villages and kasbahs.
- Ask before photographing people — your guide will happily make the introduction.
3. Building value that lasts
A tour that treats a region as scenery extracts value. A tour that returns, season after season, to the same families, camps and villages builds it. That is why our collection is small, our departures private, and our partners the same ones you will meet next year.
Where we are honest about the work ahead
We are a small agency, not a certified NGO: we hold a Moroccan tourist licence (nº2898), our registrations are on file, and the commitments above are working rules rather than audited labels. If a certification scheme for small Moroccan operators becomes accessible to us, we intend to pursue it — and we will publish it here when we do, not before.
The Kingdom of Morocco