FashionLab #1

Travel period 16 August – 12 September 2021

Due to the Covid pandemic’s travel regulations constantly changing, I eventually travelled from London to Amsterdam and then to Marrakech by plane. After 9 hours of night travels by bus to Zagora and a full day in a 4×4 with my host Said through the desert I reached the small oasis town of  M’hamid El Ghizlane. M’Hamid lies at an altitude of about 500 meters above sea level and is about 24 kilometres from the Algerian border at the edge of the Sahara. 

The people of M’Hamid have lived according to the principles of self-sufficiency for hundreds of years but due to reduced or even absent winter rains since the 1970s, agriculture has provided less income and is now abandoned almost entirely. In addition, M’Hamid was always a centre for traveling nomads and caravans. Today the town is the starting point for tourist camel and 4×4 safaris into the desert.

I had negotiated with several AirBnB hosts trying to find a suitable house for a month, and a host who could also assist me with driving and locating a safe setup place for Veerkracht FashionLab. I eventually found Monsieur Said, who was flexible, kind and creative. Basically, what the Veerkracht team and project is all about. Monsieur Said made this Veerkracht FashionLab possible with resilience, creativity and the biggest and kindest heart I have had the pleasure of meeting. 

The weather conditions in Morocco in August are tough. The heat is well above 45°C degrees and in the desert, the heat intensifies. Nights are best spent sleeping outside, like all my local neighbours did. And, so did I, but only when there were no sandstorms. Sleeping outside is quite a special experience in the desert. You really see the stars in the night sky rotating (or Earth doing it’s rotation) and like in a theatre, you are provided with a changing view of our origins and the wider universe. I felt connected to the past, present and future. 

I had a job to do. Something I had dreamt of doing for several years, having discussed and debated jeans and the denim industry and sustainability with Maarten Wentholt. Listening to him lecturing about the untenable situation in the fashion industry and the role of the irresponsible companies destroying our nature, I had this vision of taking the raw denim to Sahara and just treating them with the natural, regenerative forces of this planet. The power of the desert is relentless. The wind, sand and solar energy can be harnessed for good. No need for chemicals, no need to use huge amounts of energy and pollute our rivers and waterways. 

The nomads who live in Mhamid and in the surrounding areas, are the resilient people. Their lifestyle incorporates beautiful politeness, kindness, respect combined with the skills to survive in the Sahara. Bravery and honesty are not words I have used for a long time, but I found these words have a true meaning and representation in the people of Mhamid.

And, the camels, or dromedaries, they are just everywhere. Because Mhamid is the end of the road, the only way people can travel further south in the Sahara, is with camels. It can take 42 days to get to Tombouctou/Timbuktu.

My life for a month was basic and beautiful. I faced huge daily challenges but every day was an experience worth learning. I slept in a local house built of local dried red mud/clay, mixed with hay and other plant and tree based ingredients. My neighbours were all animals; domesticated dromedaries on the right side and goats, chickens and donkeys on the left. The relentless heat and suffocating dust are conditions you have to learn to live with. You adjust mentally, and train your body slowly to accept a new cycle. Up at 5am. Walk through the village to get fresh bread and vegetables. Work outside with fabrics ‘til 10.30am. Inside: 11am-7pm work and take a nap. 7pm – midnight, eat, meet and socialise.