Greetings Classy People,
Othman and his wife Birta have decided to launch the Mandala Society after years of nomadic lifestyle. They used to live in a caravan in Iceland for twenty-four months until they lost it in an accident.
The accident made them reconsider everything, including moving to Morocco and starting a new project.
Mandala Society is a Cafe Restaurant serving brunch, lunch, and cakes. Othman worked in Barcelona as a chef for ten years, and Birta experienced working in several cafes, so everything went smoothly for the project.
Mandala signifies a circular figure representing the universe in Hindu and Buddhist symbolism, so the couple adopted the depths of such meaning to identify balance in their project.
Birta says that the world we live in today makes it hard to keep our balance, but she keeps it and shares it with her family and their project as much as possible.
Moroccans welcomed the Mandala Society very warmly, especially young ones.
Mandala Society is a mix of two worlds as the reflection of the founders. Hot Morocco and cold Iceland came together for a perfect balance.
Whoever enters the Mandala Society environment feels personalized music, smell, decor, and lightning. All details come together for a great ambiance. The decoration is a mixture of a minimalist Scandinavian and a colorful Moroccan, harmonizing with a natural interior consisting of red copper wood, plants, and books.
The couple genuinely wants their customers to feel at home while eating at Mandala Society.
Birta notices many beautiful things about Moroccan food but explains that traditional Moroccan nutrition is not well preserved by several food businesses, for example, making bread using processed flour instead of the original corn of Morocco and Sheir or barley.
Othman and Birta want to preserve healthy nutriments for their menu alongside embracing some Moroccan recipes.
The Moroccan way of sharing a meal is truly a great social experience.
Birta witnesses communication while eating with individuals even if they don’t speak the same language, the boundaries in the main meal, and the generosity around the table when flipping a nice bite over to the neighbor.
Mandala Society is absorbing the Moroccan culture, so the project keeps the concept of strangers sitting around a table and creating connections.
Connections arising from the Mandala Society, friendships, and romantic relationships turn into marriages, so Othman and Birta are a reason behind magic happening over a meal or a cup of coffee.
It is critical to be conscious of all of our consumption, and food is an essential part, so it is our responsibility to make mindful decisions. The couple believes that thinking about the environment is a collective duty.
When they opened the Mandala Society, they deeply thought about not serving meat despite not being vegetarians.
The thought of all the meat that would pass through the restaurant made them uneasy, so they decided to serve fish only.
Othman and Birta even cancel anything in plastic bottles and limit plastic use in the kitchen.
The Icelandic Pancakes « Lummur » is the Mandala Society’s best seller. « Lummur is healthy and delicious. It is a typical Icelandic recipe for the ever-popular pancakes, and we make it using whole flour and oats . » Explains Birta.
Mandala Society is one of the businesses that make sure to uplift social work in Morocco by handing out microloans to the local community willing to go into kickstarting projects, so non-interest loans go back into circulation whenever paid, which helps another person.
The entire Mandala Society’s artwork sales profit goes into social work and donations.
Othman and Birta also collaborate with organizations that need funding by placing donation boxes and posters in the restaurant.
A wall in the interior communicates: « You make a living by what you get, but you make a life from what you give. »
The Mandala Society is currently open in Essaouira and Marrakech. Othman and Birta might think of opening elsewhere because of people’s demands from Casablanca, Rabat, and Agadir.
