“Our host, British born Karen Hadfield, runs an artist’s guest house near at the small village of Tissardmine near Erg Chebbi dunes, 9 hours from Marrakech. Here she shows us how to tie our desert scarf ( shemagh) before we head out on our 2 day camel trek. Karen established the guest house ten years ago and supports the local Amazigh community through employment, training and sponsoring local projects like the buiding of a community centre and a working well. We have been taking groups of writers and artists there for week long retreats since she started. Next Moroccan tour for artists and writers is in Feb /March 2024 . Tangier, Chefcahouen, Fez, then a week at Tissardmine with Karen.”
Writers Journey makes a habit of collaborating with women operators and organisations in all the countries we travel to. At present I am working with Jen Richardson of the woman owned company The Create Escape, on our Sensing Italy Tour in June 2023. In turn Jen is working with Luisa , owner of Palazzo Donati, a restored castle in the village of Mercatello Sul Metauro in the Le Marche district, to line up a the wonderful Nonas who will conduct four cooking lessons which we will capture in writing . On our Story Hunter tour in India Nov, 2023, we will be working with a number of female guides, translators and experts as we travel out to the Thar Desert in Jaislemer and spend DIwali in Varanasi by the River Ganges. Working with women is not something I have to think twice about. It’s where I naturally go first.
Women travelers can do much to support other women by seeking out women run companies, hiring women guides, and drivers, working with NGOs that support women, visiting women run craft centres, and supporting women artisans. By having an intention when you travel of helping other women to survive and thrive.
