Emma Joyston-Bechal is the owner and founder of Morocco Retreats. Emma grew up in Africa and loves this continent. She moved to Morocco 14 years ago and bought an old Fortune Teller’s riad in Marrakech Medina which she renovated with her partner at the time, Marcus. Together they transformed the ancient building into Riad Zamzam, an exquisite boutique hotel. It is from here that the first retreats were run and where the adventure began.
The powerful energy that exists in Morocco lead to the creation of Morocco Retreats. As soon as she started to take people into the most stunning parts of the country, the depth of experience felt by the guests has lead to the formation of a diverse and rich family team. This consists of the caring and knowledgeable Berbers who carefully search for the perfect spot, drive with astonishing skill through the mountains, into ravines and setting up their luxury ecological camp in the Sahara and on the beaches of the Atlantic. It also includes the attentive staff at Zamzam Riad who have been with Emma from the start. And finally, those guests who left but never left and continue to connect through their work with the company.
“Emma has a profound interest in enhancing life experiences through combining ancient holistic practices with an energetic experience of the natural world. The combination of these elements create the foundation for each experience.”
Although our wellness retreats are comfortably ecological, we understand that the biggest joys come from relationships and friendships, not from material things. The retreats resound with laughter from spontaneous joy of being with like-minded beings with whom we share a common vision. Laughter is one of the best therapies. Morocco retreats has grown into a multi-cultural community of like minded individuals, gravitating towards each other and experiences of more kindness, peace and freedom. Through these experiences we remember the humanity within each of us, and that we all come from the same source. Morocco retreats helps to provide this perspective and creates a safe space for introspection and expansion. The Morocco retreat experience goes beyond these retreats and tours, and often ripples out to impact the parts of our lives that also need new perspective.
Below is a video of Emma talking about how she set up Morocco Retreats with digital marketing expert, Mark Attwood.
Sustainable Tourism
Morocco Retreats creates a sustainable tourism adventure through our journey through exploring the unique and incredible landscapres and culture of Morocco. From the traditional communities across the county from the Ait Ben Haddou Kasbah, M’Hamid of Sahara, to the ancient fort of the Essaouria Medina, to the ancient mosque of Fez.
Our ethos is to provide a superb client experience, whilst giving where we can and supporting local communities. We aims to build bridges between forgotten cultures in todays complex world through ethical and sustainable business practices.
Our team trained to understand our ecological actions and their impact on the environment and that of the planet. They are here to explain to Moroccan tourists how the camp operates and the ecological rules of running Camp Adounia.
Our Ecological Practices
Organic waste for animals
Compost toilets
Complete Solar Solution solar panels for camp electricity
Hammam bathroom and beach towel (quick to dry and low water consumption)
Beach clean up with local community support
Fair Trade project with the desert Nomads
Creating Sustainable tourism in Morocco by being mindful of our partners, where we bring our clients and who we work with.
Natural skincare products in en-suite bathrooms
Hot and cold water bucket wash, use of recycled water
Eco friendly products for laundry and kitchen
Recycling plastic bottles
