Concept
Everything has been designed to favour, preserve and share with you the local resources of the Souss Massa region and promote ecology in Morocco. Thus, the ecolodge won the gold medal at the World Trophy for Responsible Tourism in London against more than 600 ecological hotels in the world. Only ten minutes from Agadir and two and a half hours from Marrakech, the Atlas Kasbah Ecolodge dominates, like a majestic fortress, the valleys of the Atlas, staked with argan trees, a biosphere reserve and a Unesco world heritage site.
The beauty and rarity of the surrounding landscapes (the argan tree being a unique endemic species in the world) as well as the generosity and benevolence of the local Amazigh communities give all their meaning to this concept of holidays in Morocco with respect for nature and human beings. Nestled in the heart of an exceptional ecosystem where a permaculture garden, olive trees, argan trees, palm trees, fruit trees, aromatic and medicinal plants and other crops cohabit, the ecolodge offers a natural heritage of great beauty.
For your stay in Agadir, welcome to this ecological accommodation on a human scale and which has been internationally rewarded for its values uniting visitors to the Earth in his best prospects.
Commitment
The ecological objective is at the heart of our actions, we have built a network of expertise in sustainable development to participate in changing awareness and promote environmentally friendly practices.
The choice of raw materials for the development, food or cleaning products is ecological and biological, in a process of development of local natural resources. Thus, our products of care and beauty in the rooms and the spa come from women's cooperatives and are organic with noble oils and raw materials of the region of Agadir and Morocco.
Thus, we participate fully in the protection and enhancement of the natural and sociocultural heritage of the argan forest. The essential criteria we used relate to water, energy, waste, purchasing policy, landscape integration and environmental awareness especially in the territory of the tribes of Mesguina.
Main environmental preservation measures implemented at the ecolodge:
1st Criterion Water: : Phytopurification station unique in southern Morocco: built in collaboration with the university Ibn Zohr of Agadir, this gentle waterfall on different floors purifies all the wastewater of the ecolodge. The aquatic green plants filter the water on each level, restoring a purified water on the last floor allowing to water the plants of the garden.
2nd Criterion Energy: : Use of ETRs, renewable energy technologies for electricity and water heaters.
3rd Criterion Waste: : Implementation of the 3RV rule: reduce, re-use, recycle, valorize
4th Criterion Purchasing Policy: : Local supply in the permaculture garden and among small producers and craft and agricultural cooperatives. Providing good menus for the climate with a very limited carbon impact
5th Criterion Landscape integration: : Eco-construction through traditional local architecture and 1st ecolodge with a permaculture garden in Morocco
6th Criterion Environmental Awareness: : Awareness of staff, visitors and residents about the environment and agro-ecology.
Atlas Kasbah is the first permaculture project in southern Morocco. Since 2009, several international volunteers have been developing a garden of indigenous plants that flourish through techniques such as companionship: a vegetable garden, medicinal and aromatic plants, fruit trees and argan trees:
The British expert A. Drew, who initiated the project to implement landscape architecture and sustainable management of the garden;
US specialist M. Connoley who focused on increasing the potential for plant irrigation and soil improvement;
Our entire team of Amazigh gardeners collaborated in the diagnosis of the site and the choice of planting.
This protected ecosystem provides nesting sites for many species of bird.
The phyto-purification system, unique in Morocco and developed by a researcher from the University of Agadir, makes it possible to filter the wastewater from the ecolodge by aquatic plants. This system is completed by a system of terraces for filtration thanks to the UV of the sun. The irrigation of the garden in permaculture is thus rationalized.
Trophies and awards
The Atlas Kasbah Ecolodge has won many awards in recognition of its proactive measures for sustainable development in Morocco. especially the Gold Medal at the Responsible Tourism Awards in London in 2015 facing more than 600 ecological hotels in the world – We are the 1st French-speaking accommodation in the world to win this international award.
OTHER AWARDS WON BY THE ECOLODGE IN MOROCCO
2016 : COP22 Tourism and Climate Award in Marrakesh
2012 : Heritage and Creation Award
2011 : ALM Ecology Trophy won
2010 : Nomination as one of the 6 Best responsible tourism projects in the world by the International Responsible Tourism Network at the ITB Berlin.
2009 : Responsible Tourism Award by Morocco Ministry of Tourism and Responsible Tourism Certificate by the Canadian consulting agency Ecoplannet.
What is permaculture
This word is the contraction of the term permanent agriculture coined by two Australians Mollison and Holmgren. It is a sustainable agricultural system based on a landscape architecture precisely adapted to the environment in which it is established and which takes into account the interaction between human settlement and a sustainable and environmentally friendly agriculture. The concept reproduces, in fact, that of the natural ecosystems in which everyone finds his place.
What is an ecolodge?
An ecolodge, like any eco-accommodation, is a guest house on a human scale based on the principles of sustainable development and whose human dimension is a key foundation. The objectives of an ecolodge are to support local communities by boosting the economy of the territory where it is established to preserve the environment, particularly in protected areas such as the argan forest biosphere reserve and promote local heritage.
All this must be done by sensitizing the visitors to the protection of the environment and the local heritage and by raising the awareness of the team and the inhabitants to the same objectives.
Why choose to spend your holidays in an ecolodge?
Staying in an ecolodge represents an awareness and a commitment towards the human and the planet, a real will to participate in the local development of the region we visit, here the magnificent forest of argan trees which is unique in the world and therefore vulnerable.
Choosing an ecolodge for your vacation also means that we want to learn how to improve our daily lives through a healthier and more environmentally-friendly way of life by learning how to use natural products to clean up at home or the use of new energy modes …
Traveling as a family in an ecolodge helps to raise children’s awareness of the values of respect, ethics, ecology and the environment in general. This is the transmission of the concept of sustainable development to future generations.
Spending holidays in ecolodge in Morocco is therefore very important because it involves participating in developing a solidarity economy to help local people and especially women since at Atlas Kasbah we trained them to do so to live with their family, from an ecological point of view, to rationalize their consumption of water and energy …
Several awards are awarded to green hotels around the world but the most important is the World Trophy for Responsible Tourism that Atlas Kasbah won in London in 2015 being the first French-speaking accommodation in the world to win such a prize in sustainable tourism.
Community service
Since its creation, the Atlas Kasbah ecolodge aims to boost the social and economic development of the region of Agadir Souss Massa and has been awarded nationally and internationally for this purpose.
Our involvement in a large number of associations including the association N’Aït Maten of the village of Tighanimine Elbaz, the association Tourism and Environment Mesguina, Rural Tourism Development Network (RDTR) and our collaboration with various agricultural cooperatives allow us to to intervene daily with the villagers.
The word ecolodge therefore makes sense because it preserves a way of life respectful of the human being and its values uniting it to the earth, this serving as an example for future generations.
Several actions have been carried out by the Atlas Kasbah ecolodge, for example:
- FIGHT AGAINST POVERTY :
The ecolodge supports more than a hundred families directly or indirectly;
- SOLIDARITY SHELVES :
Sale of local products from local cooperatives in partnership with the German Cooperation (GIZ) and the High Commission for Water and Forests and the fight against desertification;
- FIGHT AGAINST THE PRECARIOUSNESS OF WOMEN :
The ecolodge employs a large number of Amazigh women from neighboring villages. These women have been trained to ensure high quality standards. Promotion of products made by cooperatives and women’s associations (care products, paints, crafts, etc.)
- SENSITIZATION TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN AGADIR :
Organization of environmental days, organization of cleaning campaign, waste management, hosting initiatives of local associations of Agadir Souss Massa …;
- SCHOOL CAMPAIGN :
Support in the purchase of a school bus so that students can continue their education at the College of Drarga, made available to a library in the Kasbah for children of the village …
Our partners
