A house of earth in the olive trees
Al Ouidane, east of Marrakech, is one of the oldest orchards in Marrakech. On the farm, an olive tree that is probably three hundred years old, still offers its harvest every autumn, bearing witness to this. The orchards were irrigated by a network of seguias through which flowed the waters of a captured water table, which outcropped in this place, fed by the waters of the High Atlas.
In the area, houses were made of earth, as it is very clayey in this part of the Haouz of Marrakech. Dar Rana was therefore built with this local knowledge, while also drawing on the vast traditional Moroccan architectural heritage. The walls were built with raw earth bricks mixed with straw and dried in the sun. The assembly was done with lime mortar. The flat ceilings are made of palm or poplar beams, and of species more recently introduced in the region, such as cypress or eucalyptus. The terraces are made of dess (compacted lime). The interior and exterior cladding uses earth or lime. The floors are made of terracotta tiles. The walls and garden rooms are made of old red stone, salvaged from the abandoned houses in the mountain that blocks the southern horizon.
A productive garden
The space has remained loyal to its primary use: agriculture. Most of the olive trees were planted around 1950, and still today provide olives that are pressed in one of the many oil mills in the region. Between the rows of olive trees, crops are grown in two or three rotations per year. Vegetable gardens and a small orchard have been added, providing the house and its visitors with seasonal vegetables and fruit. A plentiful season that never seems to end in a country where winter, although sometimes harsh, is short.
Thirty minutes from the heart of Marrakech
Jamae El Fna Square or Marrakech’s railway station are only a thirty-minute drive from Dar Rana, while the eastern gates of Marrakech’s medina, from Bab Aghmat to Bab Khmis, are twenty minutes away. The small roads, tarmacked less than ten years ago, are not very busy and preserve the calm of the place. The commune of Al Ouidane is still essentially rural, and the douars are dotted along the seguias that used to distribute water for the crops.
The swimming pool
The pool is at the heart of the space. With its overflow, its red sandstone blocks, its stone coping, and its black color which gives a green water responding to the olive trees and the palm trees, it blends completely into the landscape.
In the large pool, adults can still get their feet wet, while the younger ones can enjoy a shallow beach.
A 25-meter-long swimming corridor allows for real swimming sessions.
The pergola
The pergola opens directly onto the pool, thereby extending. Its terracotta brick pillars support a roof made of cypress beams, between which is placed an assembly of reeds in the local style.
The pergola is a real living space. It houses a living room, a dining room, a bar and an outdoor kitchen. The sunbathing areas are placed in the sun or in the shade of the olive trees.
The house
The house is open, accessible to visitors.
Outside, the long terrace, with its rattan lounge, its traditional bench, hidden from the sun by long ecru cotton curtains, is conducive to abandonment, whatever the time of day.
In the common room, the high ceiling of laurel tatawi is supported by two arches of terracotta bricks assembled with lime, without cement. It houses a large living room and a common dining room for winter meals in front of the large fireplace.
Below, a television room is accessible.
The siestoir
This room in the garden, with its red stone walls and traditional white poplar roof, nestled in a recess of a blue pebble path, is the perfect place to take a nap on its two benches in a resolutely Berber style. It is particularly appreciated to read or drink tea in the silence of the garden.
The tent

Hidden between two rows of old olive trees, the large traditional Berber tent, made of goat and camel hair, is a space that can be used for both meals and rest.