PAF Morocco @ Les Figuiettes

PAF is happy to announce PAF Morocco @ Les Figuiettes.

Les Figuiettes is a large house built and designed patiently over the years by its owners, Cecile and Nordine, who now want to make it available to artists as PAF. We will run a pilot period in 2014/2015 to evaluate whether PAF Morocco will become a permanent annex to PAF or whether this is a temporary project.

The terms, conditions and structures of PAF Morocco will be in essence the same as you know them from PAF. Yet as this is another location with its specific characteristics, culture and economies, there are some organisational aspects and possibilities that differ from PAF in St. Erme. We hope that you will join PAF in this new adventure and are looking forward to be seeing you in Morocco soon.

POSSIBLE PERIODS FOR BOOKINGS @ PAF MOROCCO 2014/2015

Monday 28th of April 2014 – Friday 4th of July 2014
Monday 1st of September 2014 – Friday 17th of October 2014
Monday 3rd of November 2014 – Friday 19th of December 2014
Monday 5th of January 2015 – Friday 13th of February 2015
Monday 2nd of March 2015 - Friday 17th of April 2015
Monday 4th of May 2015 – Friday 3rd of July 2015

PRICES & PARTNERS

Prices in 2014 are 17 euro (18 EUR in 2015) per night from 5 nights and 19 euro under 5 nights (20 EUR in 2014). 450 euro for one month. (490 EUR in 2015) Plus for everybody a membership fee of 12 EUR, valuable for 12 months and a paper to sign that PAF Morocco is not liable for any damage done to you. You will need an extra membership for PAF Morocco as this is another location and administration. You can pay this the day of your arrival together with the fee for the rooms to Mohammed Said who will welcome you.
Mohamed Said deals with all organisation at PAF @ Figuiettes: He welcomes you, collects the payments on the day of your arrival and the copy of your passport. We need to ask you to bring a b/w copy of your passport when you arrive. This is part of the Moroccan law that we cannot do anything about. Mohammed is maintaining the house, can call a taxi for you and answer your questions. He speaks French, Spanish, Arabic and Moroccan. His number is 00.212.6.73.73.69.80.
PAF has no staff however we have several partners in Morocco, one of them is Abdelaziz who can pick you up with his taxi from the airport for 260 DH (25 EUR) and bring you to PAF @ Figuiettes, approximately a 45 minute ride from Tanger airport. Abdelaziz’ car can transport up to 4 people at the same time. For larger groups we can help you to organize several rides from the airport so you can all arrive at the Figuiettes together. Just as PAF in St. Erme the Figuiettes is located in the countryside and the house is remote and isolated. The next city is Asilah (about 20 minutes drive) where you have a market and can do your shop- ping. Abdelaziz can bring you there for 60 DH (5 EUR) one way. You can arrange this via Mohammen Said.

STUDIO AND WORKING SITUATION

PAF @ Figuiettes is located in the village of Dmina (Larache Province) and is far out in the beautiful Moroc- can countryside. Expect an isolated working retreat. You can see the Atlantic ocean from the terrace as the surrounding hills with farmland and animals.
The house has 9 private rooms that can also be shared, so for the moment a maximum of 18 people can stay at PAF@Figuiettes at the same time. Almost all rooms have private bathrooms and showers and all rooms are very spacious so can at least partly be used to work in. They have either a double bed or two single beds, a table, a closet, chairs and some other handy furniture.
There is ONE large communal space on the second floor of the main house as a 200 m2 roof terrace (that can be partly covered in the summer) and that can be used for working (think dining room at PAF). In addi- tion there are various other large outdoor spaces (like a small open air theatre, other terraces, etc.) available. There is no dance studio at the moment, whereas we are looking into the possibilities to be able to provide one in the future.

At the moment PAF @ Figuiettes provides internet via 3G-keys (to plug into the USB port of your computer) which is fine for emails, text-based research but does not allow video-Skype or downloading films/music. In the future we are looking into getting a satellite connection but at the moment this is financially not feasi- ble. There are several internet cafes in Asilah and also several Cafes (like Cafe Meknes) that have free and quite o.k. speed WIFI that you can use when you order something to drink there.

Please be aware that the working situation is different than in PAF (which has a lot of studio space). At PAF@ Figuiettes the rooms are a lot more spacious and there is plenty of communal and outdoor space available. But there are no studios in the classical sense yet and only one common inside space that can be shared. The house is flexible: you can move things around and find places to make a (temporary) working space and mess. When it is full one has to remain flexible in sharing the available common spaces if necessary.

FOOD AND OTHER BASICS

PAF @ Figuiettes provides tea, coffee, salt, sugar, olive oil, daily fresh baked bread and mineral (drinking) water. When you boil the tap water to make coffee, tea or cooking from it - it is o.k. We will make sure there is always a sufficient supply of drinking water at the house.
In the village there are many local farmers that produce top quality produce. In order to stimulate the local economy in the village PAF@ Figuettes is offering you the possibility to order food baskets (so you do not have to go to Asilah to shop).

Prices for the food baskets are:
Small food basket - 60 dh (5 EUR): 50 g of butter, 4 eggs, 2 kilos of several fresh garden vegetables
Big food basket - 200 dh (18 EUR): 50 g of butter, 6 eggs, 3 kilos of several fresh garden vegetables + 1 home made jam + 4 home made yogurts + 1 herbal tea bag + 2 kilos of starchy food (home made bread, pasta, rice, couscous...)

Also if you wish you can ask Zora to cook for you. She cooks delicious vegetarian Moroccan meals at the house and brings all ingredients for 50 dh/ person/meal. You can order and pay the produce baskets with Mohammend Said and also arrange with him whether or not you want Zora to cook for you.

Mohammed Said, Zora, Abdelaziz and Rhabier (that runs the vegetable garden) are partners that live in and around PAF Figuiettes and are involved in the project. They are not staff, should not be treated as such and do not have to be paid or tipped. Mohammed Said and Rhabier speak French and Spanish. Abdelaziz and Zora speak Moroccan and universal. It is easy to communicate with them, if there are language barriers you can always ask Mohammed to help you translate.
The culture in Morocco is centred around hospitality so do not feel strange if Zora is making a tea or a cof- fee for you every once in a while. This is her way of welcoming you and just like at PAF if you do not feel like social interaction please do not feel obliged.

Every Thursday from 08:00 - 15:00 there is a market half way between Dmina and Asilah opposite the alu- minium factory. You can walk there, it is about 3,5 km from the house. In Asilah there are two daily markets where you can buy most of your needs. There is also a market in the Medina which is very touristic just as all restaurants and cafes surrounding it. We advise you to avoid this area for shopping and food.
To the beach it is a 30 minute downhill and 40 minute uphill walk, like the steep little road just outside PAF that leeds to the forest (only then 2 km long). Once you arrive there are beautiful sand beaches. If you walk straigh down from the Figuiettes you will arrive at a little village with 20 houses, a mosque, many sheep and no road leading to (except the path you arrive on). Please do not sunbathe next to the mosque. Naked or half-naked sunning is not appreciated nor advised.

At the Figuiettes PAF provides bedcover, sheets, pillow cover and towels for you.

TRAVEL

PAF@ Figuettes is about 40 km south of Tanger right at the Atlantic coast. The easiest and cheapest way to get there is to fly to Tanger. Easyjet and Ryanair fly there from several locations as other, more pricy airlines. Cities nearby the Figuiette are Asilah (10 km), Larache (about 40 km south) and Tanger (40 km North).
Rabat is about 200 km away.

THE 3 RULES OF PAF

- Don’t leave traces
- Make it possible for others - The do-er decides
(Think them interrelated)

THE 3 NO’S OF PAF

- no partners (unless the partner has a project to work on)
- no animals
- no kids
PAF wants to be a production place not a social or leisure one

THE 3 PRINCIPLES OF PAF

1. Reversibility: The things in PAF ( whether they are objects, subjects or institutions/organisations) are there for you and you are there for the things as well. I.e. PAF or the coffee machine, the other or a corridor is there for you as much as you are there for PAF or the coffee machine, for the other or the corridor.
2. Exchange. Of whatever Knowledge, Machines, Expertise, Spaces, Times, Things
3. Liquidity. You are kindly invited to make fluid what is fixed, whether this concerns your mental (I am like this) or your material property.
Also in Dmina PAF’s relation to the village is fragile. Inhabitants of the area have a traditional life, the people from the village tolerate us. A nice and positive relation is necessary. We established this and we do a lot of effort to keep it as such. Therefore we organize the partnerships and food baskets to keep a nice relation to everybody.

Please recognize that you are in a different cultural context and cover up yourself once you leave the house. Women do not have to cover their head but men and women alike should not be walking in shorts or sexy outfits in the village or city. Please refrain from arty interventions or site specific events in the vil- lage. Please do not take fotos from the villagers. Art only in the PAF@ Figuiettes compound.
The mutual use of the available spaces is discussed and negotiated between the colleagues when you are in PAF @ Figuiettes. The principles and rules are the guidelines for this.

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