Friday, September 17, 2021

Michelle Dutro

RasLma- An Unlikely Paradise

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By MICHELLE DUTRO

(Ambient sounds of water sloshing, clothes being raked over washboards and women chatting)

The public laundry is bustling.

This isn’t at all like your local, fluorescent-lit Laundromat where you pop in a few quarters and wait while the suds get to work. RasLma rests across a small river in Chefchaouen, Morocco. Complete with waterfalls, sparkling clarity and lush green vegetation, this place is a paradise.

The river is flanked by two open-air structures, each containing a handful of washing tubs. The water from the river flows into a channel that runs between 12 tubs, feeding into each one.

Moroccan Women Fight for Property Rights

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By MICHELLE DUTRO

Letting her thin, metal door clatter closed behind her, Turia Darif left her home alone for the first time in 18 years. She cried the whole way to the courthouse, crushed with an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness.

When her husband died, Darif was left with five children and no way to feed them. The family’s main source of income came from a coffee shop and two small convenience stores. The three shops had been rented by a man for many years, but after her Mr. Darif’s death, the tenant refused to pay rent.

Dining and Development

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By MICHELLE DUTRO

Imagine a 200-ton, handcrafted wooden sailboat that took four years to build in a jungle in southern India.  This ship will never set sail. The mast, sails and rigging are all elaborate decorations like a Hollywood movie set.

Gilles Macé, the owner and director of the ship and restaurant Le Dhow, knew he wanted to create something different.

“When you say ‘I’m going to make a restaurant on a boat in Morocco,’ people can’t understand what you’re saying,” Macé said.

Moored on the river between Rabat and Sale and measuring an impressive 47 x 10 meters, Le Dhow stands out.

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