La Maison Anglaise, Morocco

23/11/2023

We're thrilled to announce that our gardens are now home to several families of chicks! 🐣🐥🐣🐥

Our sustainable garden practices have created a safe and nurturing environment for these little ones to thrive. We're proud to be a part of their journey and can't wait to watch them grow up in our beautiful gardens.

Come visit us and see these adorable creatures for yourself! Head to our calendar on our website - www.holidayswithheart.co.uk

16/11/2023

New is the theme of our latest newsletter- new holidays and 5 additional staff (of whom 4 are returning to us) and new courses in both Wales & Morocco - https://mailchi.mp/c9bc427785a8/holidays-with-heart-wins-award-best-in-africa-13570668

14/11/2023

We are very happy to announce that a Yoga Retreat with Joy Prater .with.joy is coming over the Spring Equinox. Joy teaches gentle, accessible yoga with a mix of dynamic postures and deep relaxation. She is a gem! Such fun too. We are excited to have her back!
20 - 27th March 2024
Flights are currently at very good price.
Contact us to book your place🌱

31/10/2023

The beautiful sound of the Bulbul bird fills the air at our Ecolodge. These wonderful songbirds sing along with our groups, creating something truly magical.

The luxurious vegetation in the gardens provides a home to many species of bird. We also produce a booklet that introduces you to them all, and you can also ask Said, our highly informed wildlife guide.

If you too want to hear this lovely song in person, head to our calendar on our website - www.holidayswithheart.co.uk

24/10/2023

Lisa Taylor’s yoga retreat has just finished and we have had some lovely feedback:
“La Maison Anglaise is not just a Holiday with Heart, it has so much joy beauty and soul too. A peaceful and beautiful centre where Latifa and her staff look after you with love - nothing is too much to ask. Wonderful, knowledgeable guided walks and tours from Said to experience the beauty and culture of the area. Delicious plentiful traditional food. I took the yoga retreat with Lisa, a wonderful experienced teacher. Can't wait to return and also explore the many other options from Holidays With Heart. Thank you”

If you too want to go on one of our wonderful yoga holidays, head to our calendar on our website - link in bio or www.holidayswithheart.co.uk

12/10/2023

We have huge respect for the knowledge of master builders who use traditional methods in Morocco.
These are the men and the methods we used in constructing our Ecolodge. Time and time again these methods have proved to be better, provided that the buildings are maintained well.

In the earthquakes in 2023 in Turkey & Syria research has shown that traditional earth buildings survived much better than recent restoration work and more modern buildings of breezeblock and cement. Traditionally pieces of timber are used to reinforce the walls. Seismic events are traumatic for local communities. The resilience and wisdom of traditional building cultures should be recognised, kept alive and applauded as a sustainable option.

03/10/2023

This photo happened to come up from 4 years ago. It’s a timely reminder that the reason our buildings have been so earthquake-resistant is that they are built with a ring beam in concrete reinforced with steel as well as really good foundations.
Huge thanks go to Mohamed our builder who was so meticulous.
He would do things the hard way to ensure it was properly done!
For example he wouldn’t use a JCB to dig the foundations – he wanted them to be very accurately dug by hand, so as not to disturb the adjacent ground. He also would not use ready-mix concrete because he wanted to supervise the amount of cement used.

22/09/2023

These vibrant, beautiful prints are created by our “Ecoprinters” who are currently with us. Guided by the amazing they now have a designated space to work at that is both shaded and sheltered. When it’s not used by printers our minibus is parked here.

14/09/2023

An earthquake action update: The BRITISH MOROCCAN SOCIETY TODAY: a summary of amazing achievements so far.

1. using associations who are very efficient at volume distribution sending trucks deep into the affected area eg a thousand blankets supplied yesterday.
2. distributing directly to villages where we have longstanding relationships. This involves a lot of research and coordination and the villagers are typically walking round trips of eight hours or more to meet us.
3. our motorbike team have had good successes taking small quantities of the most critical items into forward areas. Now they need picks and shovels so that the survivors can start to clear roads by hand.
4. a water filtration engineer has joined our team, bringing four professional filtration systems installed in a substantial field kitchen that is being built in Ouirgane
5. sourcing supplies is critical at this stage. Key items like power banks, torches, tents and tarpaulins are sold out in Marrakech. We are grateful to Sophie Martin, the British Ambassadors wife who with a group of other ambassadors’ wives scoured Rabat to buy a van load of precious items now being distributed. Encouraged by your support we have the scale and ambition to look seriously at sourcing products internationally. We have been working hard on that and there are some promising things in development.

In this context the BMS are raising our immediate fundraising target to £250,000. Together we are making a very real difference, so please continue to help by sharing this fund raiser as widely as you possibly can.
A personal note: as a result of a request (that came via a young man who Holidays with Heart know) last night the BMA have already found an association that will connect them to the supplies needed. Fantastic service!

14/09/2023

14/09/2023

Updated News on the Earthquake and how you can help
https://us10.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=13565728

13/09/2023

LATEST NEWS We are operating as normal. Rescue efforts are making remarkable progress. We are pleased to have accommodated free of charge a group of doctors from Medecins Sans Frontieres from yesterday. They say they won't be with us long because they are really impressed with the progress already achieved by the Moroccan Army doctors. Apparently there are ample supplies of food, clothing, blankets, tents, medicines etc being delivered to the people in need.

Our minds now turn to the medium to long term needs. We would very much like to help in the villages where we have come to know and love so many residents. Once we identify community needs we would love to help directly.

The photo below reminds us that there are many places in the mountains unaffected by the quake - the oases and Anti Atlas Mountains to the south of us, for example

12/09/2023

As the tragedy in the remoter areas unfolds there is a great need for aid. If you are able please donate. More details on our web site. https://cecu.co.uk/earthquake-update-and-how-to-help/ We will update it regularly. Please share. Thank you so much

Last updated 12 Sept at 2 pm GMTWe want first of all to thank so many of our contacts for their heartfelt supportive messages. We much appreciate your concern.

12/09/2023

We are so grateful for your donations to the charities that we support ❤️
They are working so hard right now to get the supplies to all those in need, especially to the villages in the mountains.

If you feel that you can and want to contribute, please see the links to their donation pages.

09/09/2023

We have been inundated with kind messages since the huge earthquake struck late on Friday. If you are able to, please donate the British Morocco Society's urgent appeal for donations to support those in immediate need. They have worked for decades with local associations with a particular focus on the areas near the epicentre of the earthquake. As a British Charity, Registered Number 1111793, donations by U.K. tax payers are eligible for Gift Aid. Please share

Just before midnight on the 8th of September a tragic earthquake measuring 7… Ella Williams needs your support for British Moroccan Society Earthquake Appeal

09/09/2023

We are all devastated by the news of the big earthquake near Marrakech. Thankfully the epicentre is about 100 miles away from us so our staff, friends in local communities and our guests are all safe and well, though naturally in shock. We are so lucky that our ecolodge has safe, single storey buildings with good foundations and lots of open space around them.

Our heart goes out especially to people in the mountain villages where many homes have collapsed and access for rescue services can be very difficult.

DONATIONS If you like to help those in most urgent need please go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/british-moroccan-society-earthquake-appeal

09/09/2023

We are all devastated by the news of the big earthquake near Marrakech. Thankfully the epicentre is about 100 miles away from us so our staff, friends in local communities and our guests are all safe and well, though naturally in shock. We are so lucky that our ecolodge has safe, single storey buildings with good foundations and lots of open space around them.

Our heart goes out especially to people in the mountain villages where many homes have collapsed and access for rescue services can be very difficult.

DONATIONS If you like to help those in most urgent need please contact us https://cecu.co.uk/contact/

04/09/2023

Here is the video of an interview with Jane at the awards ceremony when we received the award for the Best Rural Hotel in Africa

Winner in the Africa Prestige Awards

04/09/2023

You can now see the full interview with Jane from the Prestige Awards🏆click this link https://youtu.be/fLrATtIbzlg to watch