This March, Olivia returns to Morocco for a 14-day journey through imperial cities, the Sahara Desert, and the Atlas Mountains. Woven into those days, between the riads and the medinas, the camel rides and the cooking classes, are encounters designed to do more than inspire. They're designed to impact.
Talassemtane Women's Cooperative
In the heart of Chefchaouen's medina, six women are building something that extends far beyond the textiles they weave. The Talassemtane Women's Cooperative is preserving tradition and rewriting what economic independence looks like for women in Morocco's Rif Mountains. When you step into their workshop, you're witnessing innovation rooted in heritage. The leader of the collective learned the traditionally male practice of blanket weaving and has brought it to her community, teaching other women this art.
These artisans blend centuries-old techniques with contemporary design, creating work so exceptional that prominent European financial institution, Santander Bank selected them as one of just nine Moroccan projects worthy of investment support. But the real story isn't in the accolades. It's in what this cooperative makes possible: financial autonomy and skills to be passed down through generations of women. It's a model that proves craft isn't quaint, it's quite powerful.
And that impact ripples outward. When women earn, entire families shift. Girls stay in school longer. Health outcomes improve. Communities stabilize. The looms at Talassemtane aren't just creating beautiful textiles—they're creating positive change for the future of their community.
Chef Tarik's Kitchen
Miles south in Marrakech, Chef Tarik runs a different kind of workshop, one where the act of cooking becomes an act of community investment. His kitchen garden employs local women and men, sources from neighborhood markets and the farm property, turning culinary education into economic opportunity. The individuals who work alongside him aren't just teaching you to layer spices in a tagine. They're supporting their families, building their skills, and participating in an economy that sees them as essential.
When Chef Tarik's staff guides your hands through shaping couscous or explains the five-step process of Moroccan tea, you're learning from people whose expertise is valued as a precious skill. That's intentional. That's the point.
These experiences give visiting Olivians a chance to experience, partake, and purchase from these meaningful ventures and the people within them who are building their own paths.
Education for All Morocco
Last year, Olivia Gives Back put that belief into action by supporting Education for All Morocco, one of three organizations who uplift women and girls around the world that Olivia chose to support this year around Giving Tuesday. In Morocco's rural regions, secondary school can be miles away, too far for girls to travel safely each day. Education for All bridges that distance with boarding houses, meals, and the kind of stable environments where futures take shape.
Olivia contributed $5,000 to this cause, and our community raised just over $11,000 total for EFA and two other remarkable organizations in Nepal and Tanzania. But Giving Tuesday was a beginning, not an end. The need continues. Girls like Safa, now pursuing her degree in Digital Engineering, exist and thrive because someone believed that her potential mattered enough to invest in it.
If you're able, we invite you to join us in supporting Education for All Morocco. Your tax-deductible contribution provides room and board, school supplies, and the safety that makes education possible. Visit our GlobalGiving fundraiser to give
The true treasures of travel are moments that allow us to have authentic interactions with locals who live in the places we visit. What we take away from these memories is lasting, human, and meaningful. What a privilege it is to meet the women weaving their own independence and teaching in kitchens that prioritize dignity, and to support an organization building boarding houses that allow girls to become the first in their families to finish their schooling.
About Olivia Gives Back
For 35 years, Olivia has built more than itineraries. We've built relationships with the places we visit and the people who welcome us, and we understand that intentional travel strives to leave something positive behind. That's the mission of Olivia Gives Back: to support the communities and places that open their doors to us. Where we go, we give. And the giving continues.
