Jamal Ait Lachegar, Berber Travel Adventures

A recent five-day walk in Morocco opened my eyes to a vital modern incarnation of ancient mountain hospitality: local families providing shelter to strangers. This is the story of Jamal Ait Lachegar, who is quietly realizing the dream of home-stays for walkers as a form of cultural exchange and preservation. And the story of a man whose work is building towards a larger dream: perhaps a future “Berber Trail”, possibly operated as part of the nascent International Appalachian Trail.

Evolution of a business model for mountain accommodations

As a marathon runner, Jamal trained in the mountains and valleys in which he grew up, and developed a deep knowledge and love of the terrain and its people. Professionally, he was about to accept a job in the administration of a French school in Casablanca when he met the owner of a British trekking company, who offered him a job in his home-town. His father was ill and he decided to take the mountaineering job and stay in Amizmiz in the High Atlas with his family.

Under this very forward-looking British company, High Country Mountaineering, he gained valuable experience and training. He did a bit of everything (rock climbing, camping, desert expeditions, day hikes, etc.), but gradually began to gravitate towards guiding walking trips, which generally involved camping each night. He realized his local knowledge was invaluable in planning logistics and in securing supplies when needed for camping groups. It soon became apparent to him that it would be much easier for the groups to stay in local homes than to set up camp and cook each day. And he found that tourists loved it.   He began to build up a small network of host families among his friends in the villages. In the late 1990’s after a few early adopters came forward, other villagers asked to become part of this nascent network of guest-houses. Jamal worked with village elders to address any concerns the host families and villages might have.

When High Country Mountaineering closed in 2008 Jamal was without a job. He saw a need and opportunity to develop a locally owned and operated company, and established his company, Berber Travel Adventures. Morocco was encouraging small business development. But Jamal elected to forego the offers of loans from micro-credit groups and decided not to build a hostel for guests. Instead he focused on encouraging villagers to make improvements in their own homes and to open up as guest-houses. His business plan was based on interaction with locals and the attendant opportunities for cultural exchange.   While Jamal is not the only person offering guest-house guided trips, he was certainly one of the earliest in the Atlas. He has built a unique network of guest-houses and associated services out of personal relationships with the villagers.   This personal approach is evident and very appealing to his clients.

“Excursions for the culturally adventurous “ is the company motto. When asked why he chose cultural exchange as his focus, Jamal cited:

• As a Berber, he wants foreigners to get a taste of the real Berber culture to supplement the more commercial view they get in the big cities of Morocco.  Life in the Atlas valleys is in many ways untouched by the trappings of modern civilization, and provides a glimpse of village life as its been lived for centuries in agricultural valleys.
• With the introduction of electricity (only available within the last decade in many villages), paved roads, television, etc. to remote Berber villages, development is increasing daily. The old ways are in danger of being forgotten. He wanted to develop a business that would remind people in the West of what life was like in one of the oldest cultures in the world for millennia. He wanted to help preserve the old ways by making celebration of the old ways a source of local economic development and pride.
• He was committed to sustainable tourism based on the principles of working only with locals — helping to generate income and opportunity for local people — and doing as little damage as possible to the local environment and culture.
• He learned through experience that hikers really valued the opportunity to experience Berber hospitality, which is a form of traditional Muslim hospitality.
• Finally, he realized he could develop a business built on relationships and his native knowledge of the area. Working with a network of host-families could help showcase traditional Berber life and also give a sense of how these agricultural communities are changing.

With these ideas in mind, Jamal set up a simple web site. His brother-in-law helped him develop it further. He soon got his first customers – a group of Americans – in 2008. The business got off to a quick start and since then he has hosted thousands of guests from five continents. Berber Travel Adventures has amassed glowing testimonials and Trip Advisor recommendations. These clearly indicate that his model resonates with people. Why?

Why host-families and interaction with locals is valued

Talking with Jamal about what his guests value and thinking about my own experience, it’s clear that we value the sense of: having some level of authentic contact with the life of intact mountain villages, being privileged to travel lightly in the region and contribute to its economy and well-being.   And while the language barrier remains, it is mediated by Jamal’s translations and stories, which provide us an opportunity to live among Islamic brothers and sisters for a brief time.

Most westerners could not negotiate a trek through the Atlas mountains without a guide, and travelling with a guide whose ethos is based in community connections and cultural sensitivity is a great privilege. It takes us out of our daily lives and accustomed cultural contexts, and it puts us temporarily in a completely different physical and cultural context.

Staying in the homes of villagers, stopping in homes to enjoy a snack and a rest, and occasionally meeting people along the trail give one glimpses into the architecture, rhythms and patterns of home life. One experiences something of the textures of living in multi-generational families, the high degree of sibling care-taking, gender roles, how kids are included in daily life, and rituals and methods of food preparation. Walking with an informed guide can provide context in terms of local agriculture and trade, water rights, traditions of land tenure, herbal medicines, natural history, geology, and much more.

These are the reasons people hire guides and stay in guest houses in many parts of the world. It’s a special pleasure to experience them in a Muslim country as we seek to expand understanding across cultures. To at least some limited extent, local people get to tell their stories and hear those of travelers. It’s a fabulous model for sheltering walkers and building global understanding.

Dreams for the future: an Atlas/Berber Long Distance Walking Trail

As we discussed all this with Jamal another dimension of his thinking came into focus. Through their work, he and others active in Atlas mountaineering are gradually building elements and experience that might some day be forged into a long distance trail in the Atlas region. Perhaps it could be called the “Atlas Trail” or the “Berber Trail”.

The Atlas actually comprise a series of ranges extending over 1,500 miles across Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Focusing on Morocco alone makes such a project easier to imagine. The Moroccan Atlas offer a wide range of conditions and interest for mountaineers, trekkers, bikers, and other forms of recreation. In Morocco there are 10 peaks over 4,000 meters high. And the Central and High Atlas ranges in Morocco are flanked with valleys dotted with agricultural villages, which are a delight to walk through. Collectively the Atlas ranges are repositories of a rich traditional Berber culture.

While much work would need to be done to create a true long distance trail, there is great potential to the idea as Moroccan tourism matures beyond the present focus on shopping, desert outings, and seaside attractions. It is easy to imagine the attractions of a quality long distance trail featuring Berber culture, music, cooking, herbal medicine, and community.

As we talked about this dream, we realized that the nascent International Appalachian Trail would logically begin (or end) in the Atlas Mountains. This could provide an international context and brand for what could become a globally recognized long distance trail.

It’s a very big dream! But somehow it seems appropriate for a young man who has already accomplished big dream. He has established a successful mountaineering business that connects people across cultures and is based in an ancient Muslim tradition of hospitality.   Building on this noble mission is the kind of community-building and peace-inspiring work that global trail-builders dream about, and that could happen in Morocco!