Meet Youssef and Pauline - our good friends, collaborators and the founders of Amazigh Hike and Yoga!
If you have been around Villa X you have probably met them already, and if not you have something to look forward to! This post is about finding love and combining your passion with your dreams! It is an insight into who Youssef and Pauline are, how they met, why they started their business and what they are dreaming of!
Lets get started with a good old classic introduction.
P "I’m Pauline, I’m 30 years old and from France. I am passionate about textile and studied fashion from a young age.
I tried to make my way through the glamorous world of fashion before realizing it was not for me after all. After a few years of traveling I did my yoga teacher training in Rishikesh in the north of India and became a yoga teacher. After I finished my training, I was looking for a place to teach. I was travelling a lot at this time and wanted to keep going. I looked through Workaway for some work exchange and found a surf camp in Tamraght looking for a yoga teacher. I didn’t plan to stay that long but I have now lived in Morocco for about 1,5 year and is currently teaching in a few surf camps and hotels around Taghazout. My passion for yoga and oriental lifestyle makes me feel like Morocco is my home."
Y
"I’m Youssef, I’m 34 years old and originally from a berber village in the mountains around 35 kilometers from Agadir. I lived my whole life in this area and so, of course I know it very well. I worked in hospitality, in different positions. Everything from being a cook to a hostel manager. I speak Berber, Moroccan Arabic, French and English.
I am now very happy and proud to have my own business, guiding hikes and yoga around my beautiful region, it doesn't feel like work!"
How did you meet? P We met early 2019. Youssef was working in a surf camp as a the maintenance/organisation/all-in-one guy when I jumped into the team as the yoga teacher. It’s also where we met you girls! We used to work all together in this camp. Good memories and good times! It sounds like a cliche but we caught each others eyes from the first day and now we have a cat, a business and a home together!
Why did you start Amazigh?
P It was only a few months after we met that we decided to create our own business with a combination of our passions; hiking and yoga. It just felt so right. Youssef is an expert of the mountains tracks that surrounds his village and adding yoga to it felt like a very good and natural combination.
We chose to call it Amazigh Hike and Yoga. Amazigh means freedom in Berber language and also signifies the Berber people.
Amazigh people represent a huge part of Morocco and the language is widely spoken. Especially around the Agadir region. The Amazigh culture is very old and the tradiotions vary, from place to place in Morocco or North Africa. So much to learn from it!
What is the best part of Amazigh Hike and Yoga?
P We organise hikes from 1 to 5 days with yoga « à la carte ». So the guests can choose what suits them best. We only hike through hidden paths - the tracks are almost only taken by locals. We escape touristy spots and try to show a variety of landscapes and scenery: High mountains views to feel small, flat green gardens where locals grow their food to appreciate the change of colors, and rivers flowing through rocks to create natural pools.. We always stop for meals at local homes or nice and warm lodges or guesthouses to socialize with people living in the area. To start and finish the day we have the option to add a yoga session to calm and regenerate,
We really want to show a true vision of how Berber people live today and how amazing and generous humans they are.
What are your hopes and dreams for Amazigh?
Y
Our one-day hike is already really popular and it is a good option to discover beautiful landscapes for short time travelers - but we really want to develop our several days hike packages. It’s a complete immersion in the Berber world. For these trips we also add a visit to a local argan oil cooperative lead by women and a visit to the Amazigh culture museum in combination with the outdoors hike.
In the future we plan to build a small guesthouse in Youssef’s village to welcome guests and have our own yoga shala. Pauline’s dream is also to make yoga more accessible to local women and create a sense of community around it. One day hopefully!
Read more about Amazigh Hike and Yoga on their website and check them out on Facebook & Instagram.
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