About Us
SheherazadVentures s.a.r.l. is a limited liability company based in Morocco. It was founded by English radio broadcaster, Rachel Blech, in partnership with Abdelahl Chabli, from the Moroccan Sahara, who has many years experience in desert tourism.
From start to finish, our English-speaking ground team are committed to ensuring that your adventure holiday runs smoothly, bridging the cultural gaps where needed, yet giving you the freedom to explore and uncover your own tales of a Thousand and One Arabian Nights….
The story so far….
In 2006, music broadcaster Rachel Blech, went to Morocco to make a documentary for Irish radio about the hugely popular festival of Gnawa music (see our Media page to hear gnawa and other Moroccan music styles) in Essaouira on the Atlantic Coast. It was on that first visit that Rachel met nomadic ‘Blue Men’ from the remote Saharan village of M’Hamid el Ghizlane at the southernmost end of the Drâa Valley. She was invited to return the following spring to attend the annual International Nomads Festival in their village – a dusty, distant world far removed from the chic glamour of Essaouira (hear Rachel's radio report on our Media page).
On that visit Rachel met Abdel Chabli and his family, nomadic Saharaoui people who now depend upon desert tourism for survival. As a solo female traveller she was amazed at how safe and secure she felt in their company. Camping under the stars, trekking on a camel and listening to desert songs, she wanted to encourage others to come and experience their simple hospitality and ancient culture, at the same time bringing much-needed work into the village.
Having previously worked in Ireland as a community artist, leading creative workshops for disadvantaged communities, her passion for bringing cultural projects to the region was ignited. In 2008 she brought Irish musicians to perform in the International Nomads Festival for the first time and plans for a reciprocal visit to Ireland are currently underway.
SheherazadVentures is a vehicle for both cultural exchange and economic activity for this impoverished region of Morocco . We don’t know the trendy marketing jargon – so we call it ‘socio-ethico-mmercial’ tourism! We would like to invite community groups, youth leaders, community artists and musicians to bring their skills on holiday to share with the local population!
During 2008 and 2009 Rachel and the Hajja family designed and hosted holidays for a major UK singles-holiday tour operator with great success. We are also now working with an Irish travel agent to host their clients and we are designing our own unique solo-traveller adventures.
Our tours are ideal for English-speaking independent and group travellers of all ages.
THE TEAM:
Rachel Blech – Managing Director
- responsible for client liaison, tours design and marketing, reservations and administration
Rachel Blech was born in London where she worked in theatre and performing arts management for 10 years before relocating to Ireland in 1997. From 1997 to 2004 she worked as a community arts facilitator, arts consultant and publicist. In 2000 she started her own local radio show specialising in world music and then in 2004 she began working for Irish national radio, RTÉ Radio 1. Since then she has made documentaries, music programmes and features for BBC and RTÉ radio. She currently broadcasts a weekly programme called The Magic Carpet for RTÉ lyric FM. She has also written for Songlines Music Magazine, Easyjet, Frommers Guide to Morocco, Fodor’s Guide to Morocco, The Journal of Music and Irish Music Magazine. Rachel now divides her life between Ireland and Morocco.
Abdel Chabli - Associate Director
- responsible for transport, logistics and ground team co-ordination
Abdel Chabli has worked in the family travel business alongside his brothers since his teenage years. He was educated in the village school of M’Hamid el Ghizlane and speaks Arabic, fluent French and very good English. He has an intimate knowledge of the Sahara desert region having worked as a guide for many years and he will proudly tell you about the landscape and the nomadic traditions. He is passionate and knowledgeable about Moroccan, African and Saharan music as well as music from all over the world - especially reggae music! He regularly plays darbouka (North African drum) and sings for our guests around the campfire as well as organising our desert transportation, bivouac camps, camel trekking, community liaison and local guide services.
In addition to the official partners within the company, we have a network of tried and trusted Moroccan colleagues who provide the additional ground services required - drivers, guides and escorts, cooks, camel-handlers, official city/site guides etc. Our objective is to utilise individual family-owned or independent suppliers thereby maximising economic benefits to the local families. All hotels that we use are personally checked out to ensure that they are suitable for our clients and that they are safe, clean, friendly and respectably run. Where possible we use small independent character accommodation which, if not always Moroccan-owned, provides employment for local people.
