JNANE YLANE
Three years in conception, the new estate of Jnane Ylane attempts to recreate the timeless tranquillity and beauty of the Palmeraie in the countryside outside Marrakech. Scheduled to open in 2010, it features an organic farm, several villas, a boutique hotel, a gallery and artisans' workshops scattered around an old kasbah in the shadow of the Atlas mountains.
Jnane Ylane will be a living, integrated community with 95% of the land devoted to gardens and farmland. Cars will not be allowed on site.
The fields will be tilled by local farmers and planted with alfalfa, barley, and wheat. Orchards and ornamental gardens will be watered with drip irrigation.
In the craft workshops carpenters, potters and furniture-makers will make the distinctive Jnane furnishings and ceramics. Artists and musicians will be encouraged to use Jnane Ylane as a retreat; exhibitions and literary soirées will be regular events. In the evening, activities will centre around the tea room, bar and restaurant (serving home-produced food, of course).
Far enough from Marrakech to escape the hue and cry, near enough to give access to the delights the city has to offer, Jnane Ylane is a place to recharge body and mind.
