About Diversity Excursions, Ltd.
Diversity Excursions, Ltd. was created in February 2000 as the trading subsidiary of The Global Diversity Foundation. It designs tours – called ‘diversity excursions’ – for guests who stay at Jnane Tamsna in the Palmeraie of Marrakech, Morocco.  All proceeds from the excursions are donated to The Global Diversity Foundation, a registered UK charitable organization that sponsors training and research on agricultural, biological and cultural diversity in Morocco and other countries. During the excursions, English-speaking Moroccan guides accompany guests on tours to Marrakech and its environs. The guides – many of them from Tamazight (Berber) speaking communities – are experts in explaining the general culture, ecology and history of the south of Morocco. Moroccan and foreign scholars accompany guests on selected field visits to provide additional insights into local diversity.

Antique photo in Jnane Tamsna

About Gary J. Martin and Meryanne Loum-Martin

Reflecting our combined interests in architecture, anthropology, botany and design, we created Jnane Tamsna for travellers who want to experience Marrakech from a different angle: a country guesthouse in the legendary palmeraie. Whether your interests focus on aesthetics, local lifestyles or the natural world, Diversity Excursions will provide you with an insider's view of Morocco during the day, and return you to the tranquility of Jnane Tamsna at night. Throughout this website, you will see our bylines (GJM or MLM) on texts that give our personal insights about travelling in Morocco, and in particular about enjoying Marrakech. ~ GJM and MLM
In “50 Hot Numbers”, (Condé Nast Traveller March 2002),  Sophy Roberts writes, “If you want to be a big-game player in Africa, are planning a tour of the best vineyards in France, or simply need to escape on a private island, consult our who's who (and where's where) of the key travel specialists worldwide: Meryanne Loum-Martin, 44. Senegalese-French corporate lawyer, who defected from Paris to Marrakech in 1995, since then becoming Morocco's most sophisticated name in travel. Designed Ryad Tamsna, the city's pre-eminent restaurant-boutique, and Dar Tamsna, the villa beloved of Nicole Kidman and Giorgio Armani; opened Jnane Tamsna, a new venture in January. Husband is American ethno-botanist Dr. Gary Martin, who heads Diversity Excursions which runs cultural and ecological tours accompanied by Moroccan academics.”
Harvesting vegetables at Jnane Tamsna

Gary Martin, the Director of The Global Diversity Foundation since its inception in 1999, studied botany and anthropology, completing his PhD at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of Ethnobotany: A Methods Manual and was the general editor of the People and Plants Handbook: Sources for Applying Ethnobotany to Conservation and Community Development from 1996 - 2001. He has been awarded Fulbright fellowships for his work in Mexico (1985) and Bolivia (1993 - 1994), and received the 1998 Janaki Ammal Medal from the Society of Ethnobotanists, India. Since 1999, he has been a Research Fellow and Lecturer in the Anthropology Department at the University of Kent, where he teaches students in the Ethnobotany MSc. programme. He became a Fellow of the Linnean Society in 2000. He served as President (2002 – 2003) of the Society for Economic Botany, the largest professional society of ethnobotanists. He is the Managing Director and Chair of the Board of Diversity Excursions, Ltd.
Gary Martin in Jnane Tamsna garden

Former Parisian lawyer Meryanne Loum-Martin is a self taught interior designer whose achievements in Marrakech have been celebrated in Architectural Digest, Harpers and Queen, The New York Times, Town and Country, Vogue and other publications. A French citizen of Senegalese and West Indian descent, she created Dar Tamsna – luxury villas in the Palmeraie of Marrakech – in 1989. She was a pioneer in the concept of merging exceptional private accommodation with a cultural and culinary experience. In 1999, she opened Ryad Tamsna, a restaurant-gallery-boutique in the Marrakech Medina. Her latest project, launched in 2001, is Jnane Tamsna, a boutique guest house of 15 bedrooms on a beautiful six acre estate in the heart of the Palmeraie. She is contributing editor of The New Moroccan Style by Susan Sully, published in 2003 by Clarkson and Potter (Random House). She is a member of the Board of Directors of Diversity Excursions, Ltd.
Meryanne Loum-Martin at Ryad Tamsna

The Global Diversity Foundation, Charity Commission for England and Wales Registered, No. 1080731

Companies House Registered: 37 St. Margarets Street, Canterbury, Kent CT1 2TU, UK, No. 3830136

Diversity Excursions Ltd., Registered: 37 St. Margarets Street, Canterbury, Kent CT1 2TU, UK, No. 3924051