COLOURS OF THE SUN
Textiles retreats in Morocco in 2025

A TASTE of moroccAN TEXTILE CULTURE

Join me on a special journey to Morocco and share my passion for this wonderful country.

Meet local Amazigh artisans who create beautiful hand woven textiles working with Atelier Talasin, a women’s co-operative based 45 minutes from Marrakech. Experience all the stages of creating a hand crafted carpet, from washing and hand spinning the wool, dyeing with plant dyes and learning to weave on a vertical loom using a traditional Berber knotting technique. With only 8-10 places available, you are guaranteed a hands on experience in the company of like-minded creatives!

Start your adventure in Marrakech. We’ll whisk you away from the hustle and bustle to the peaceful countryside in the foothills of the High Atlas Mountains. You will be staying in a beautiful country house with swimming pool and lush gardens, taking part in hands-on workshops in dyeing and weaving and have plenty of time to relax and explore your own creativity using local materials, enjoying home grown produce and healthy meals.

Optional add-on trip to Essaouira for a weekend of laid back shopping, beach walks and spectacular sunsets. Be inspired by the local artisans and explore the ancient winding streets of the old Medina. Fly home directly from Essaouira.

SAMPLE ITINERARY (subject to alteration)

MONDAY  fly to Marrakech (flights from all over the UK)
You will be met at Marrakech Menara airport and enjoy a private transfer (approx 45 minutes) to your accommodation. The guest house is built in a traditional adobe style in a rural setting near the foothills of the High Atlas Mountains. Enjoy home cooked food made with ingredients from the garden, relax by the pool and have time and space to breathe the clean country air with a view of the Atlas mountains. Welcome drinks and traditional Moroccan dinner in the house. 

TUESDAY
Cultural Visit to meet weavers and spinners in their villages.

We start the day with a quick early morning visit to the local Tuesday Souk at Ait Ourir. This weekly market is a typical rural market where locals come to shop for their provisions, sell their wares and pick up a bargain at the roadside ‘joutiya’ car boot sale!

We then travel by private vehicle up into the High Atlas Mountains, a range of towering peaks and villages perched on the mountainsides.  We will be met by our community of village women at the banks of the river who will have tea prepared for us before joining them in the process of washing the local Siroua wool by hand. Heading further up the valley to another village we will be served a delicious Moroccan lunch in a traditional Amazigh mountain home. In the afternoon we will take a short walk to another home where the local women will teach you how to card and spin the fleece using a drop spindle.

WEDNESDAY
Henna dye workshop at Atelier Talasin

In this one day workshop you will learn how to dye local wool using Henna, a natural dye derived from the Lawsonia Inermis plant.  Its use goes back over 5000 years with a symbolic place in the cultural and religious history of Morocco. The high-grade Henna is sourced from a small farm set in an oasis close to the Sahara desert.  You will use it to dye locally raised and hand spun Siroua wool, unique to the region and highly valued for its lustrous, silky quality. This hands-on workshop takes place in the custom-built dye kitchen on the rooftop of the studio in Ait Ourir, with plenty of shade and far reaching views of the Atlas Mountains.

You will learn how to prepare the wool for dyeing and how to create a collection of beautiful earth tones using Henna and various other natural ingredients. You will be using this wool in the weave workshop. You will also have the option to have a traditional henna tattoo on your hands or feet!

THURSDAY
One Day Weave workshop

All of Talasin’s handwoven rugs are crafted in their own atelier using the (almost) long-lost technique of the Berber knot.  Found nowhere else in the world but in the Atlas Mountains, the Berber knot adds a deeply unique texture and denomination of origin to the craft. In this one day workshop, you will learn how to thread up and weave on a simple wooden frame loom using your Henna dyed wool. You will also learn about traditional Amazigh (Berber) symbols as used by the weavers in their carpet designs and how to incorporate one of these into your design using flat weave techniques and the unique Berber knot. At the end of the workshop will have the option to purchase your hand held loom (20x30cm) to take away with you to continue your weaving at your leisure.

FRIDAY
Half day Berber cookery class

Learn how to prepare a traditional Berber style lunch, bake bread and make traditional ‘Friday Couscous’ using fresh produce from the smallholding.After lunch, relax by the pool, enjoy some time out, continue with your weaving, explore the gardens.

SATURDAY
Taxi departs for Marrakech 1000 arrive Menara Airport 1100

OPTIONAL ADD ON:
why not visit Essaouira and spend a weekend by the sea?

Accompanied by Aviva, who has been travelling to Essaouira for the past 18 years and knows her way round! Meet some of the local artisans and enjoy this laid back city by the sea. Fly home directly from Essaouira, flights depart Monday and Thursday (in season, subject to availability).

WHAT’S INCLUDED:

Transfers to and from Marrakech and all excursions during the week.
Shared accommodation in six rooms (one double, one single bed) with en suite
1 double room with solo occupancy available with supplement
5 nights full board at Dar Tasmayoun
1 day cultural excursion to the High Atlas
2 one day workshops 
1 half day cookery workshop 
lunch and refreshments during workshops
all materials and equipment needed for the workshops

NOT INCLUDED

Travel to and from Morocco
Personal travel insurance (recommended)
Alcoholic beverages 
Staff gratuities

“I am writing to say what a fantastic holiday I have had in Morocco; it was a wonderful mix of workshops (and weekend in Essaouira) which was quite magical - food and accommodation was first class, and the guidance to shops and bars a real treat!...as for the workshops, extremely informative and enjoyable; I really learnt a lot. the visit to the countryside was also interesting.. I would thoroughly recommend the holiday for any textiles people who want to have a great holiday and learn a great deal about dyeing and weaving”. (Gail G)