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<h2 style="white-space:pre-line">The Ecofeminist Institute's annual retreat in Morocco</h2>
<p>One of our very special programmes is our annual retreat that takes place every September in Morococo. </p>
<p>Over the course of 10 days, participants are immersed in an intesive cultural and educational programme with daily activities to put decolonial ecofeminism into practice by traveling consciously in a postcolonial country. </p>
<p>From writing and reflective exercises, to visiting sites of ecological significance, to staying with locals, this experience is designed for those who want to break out of theory and spend 10 days with the institute's founder, Dr. Asmae Ourkiya, in their home country. </p>
<p>The next call for applications opens in November 2026.</p>

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Words from the founder:

"Organizing this ecofeminist retreat was pretty much a personal mission for me. After a decade of living in the EU as a climate justice researcher and ecofeminist educator, and seeing the environmental movement reduced to a privileged, almost commodified, brand of “sustainability,” I knew I had to create something different. It felt like so much of the discourse was just white greenwashing, completely disconnected from the realities and struggles of my own country 🇲🇦and Africa. I wanted to design a space that wasn’t about feeling good, but about doing better, and being better in an imperfect way. I designed a space that directly challenged that very notion of privileged environmentalism.

Every single activity, every place we visited, was chosen with absolute intention. We didn’t just go to a farm to look at it; we got our hands in the soil, learned how to cook Moroccan food from scratch, picked the seasonal harvest, and understood the labor involved in the Rif mountains. We gathered around a table overlooking Chefchaouen, and cooked with the locals, learning their techniques and sharing their stories. I wanted to immerse everyone in an experience that would make them confront the simple truth: living “sustainably” is a luxury for many people around the world. It’s not about choosing a reusable coffee cup; it’s about having enough to eat.

My ultimate goal was to show participants how to be colonially conscious visitors. I wanted to shift their mindset from a place of imposing solutions to one of deep listening and respect. So many visitors arrive with their own ideas of how things “should be,” which can feel incredibly condescending to locals. I made sure we created an environment where participants learned to see, not just look, to recognize that locals hold generational knowledge and practices that are far more sustainable than anything we can learn from a privileged eco-magazine. Seeing that shift in perspective from the first day to the last was everything. It was proof that we’d succeeded in challenging those old narratives, and that everyone had an absolutely great time doing it 🪬♥️🙏🏾" Dr. Asmae Ourkiya

Morocco, September 2025

Beach guided meditation by the founder, Dr. Asmae Ourkiya

Educational overnight stay at the Cannabis farms in the Rif

Traditional cooking workshop in Chefchaouen

The Ecofeminist Institute

About us
The Ecofeminist Institute is consultancy and research business based in Ireland.

The institute is at the forefront of Intersectional Ecofeminism Research, Reporting, and Consultancy, a dynamic partnership for a more equitable and sustainable world.

Our Vision:
The Ecofeminist Institute's vision is to help shape a world where climate justice, gender equality, minority rights, and environmental sustainability are not just lofty ideals but central tenets of policy-making and business strategies.