The Charbon Project began, unexpectedly, with a coal-coloured cat in Fez.

 

One chilly night in May 2026, at the blue gate of the the ancient medina, a small street cat climbed onto my lap and quietly went to sleep as though we had known each other forever. I named him Charbon — French for coal — because of the soft dark brown-black of his coat beneath the lantern light.

 

I couldn’t take him home with me. But that night, after one too many Moroccan coffees and a strangely vivid dream, I woke up at 5am with a feeling I couldn’t shake: that I wanted to help cats like Charbon across the world.

 

Not by “saving” them all. Not by pretending I have all the answers. But by learning, listening, telling stories and supporting more humane, sustainable approaches to street cat welfare.

 

Fez is full of cats. Beautiful cats. Sick cats. Loved cats. Forgotten cats. Cats sleeping beneath café tables, weaving through the souks and sitting quietly in the doorways of the medina as though they have always belonged there — because they have.

 

What struck me most was not the scale of the problem, but the affection the people of Fez showed them in their everyday life. Earlier that day, I'd watched a souk shopkeeper laughing as he played with a cat he clearly adored, gently tossing him onto his shoulder and teaching him little tricks while the cat looked at him with complete trust. Another man had built a tiny shelter from a cardboard box for a mother cat and her week-old kittens, carefully tucked away inside his shop.

 

The cats of Fez are not separate from the city. They are an integral part of its rhythm, its streets, its daily life. And with that closeness comes a complicated reality: love alone cannot prevent illness, suffering or endless population growth. Humane welfare, education and access to sterilisation and veterinary care matter too.

 

The Charbon Project was born from that feeling:

that there must be a better, kinder and more sustainable way for humans and street cats to coexist.

 

This is not a finished organisation, nor a polished charity with all the answers. It is simply the beginning of an idea — one that will hopefully grow over time through storytelling, education, photography, partnerships and direct support for humane street cat welfare initiatives around the world.

 

This is just the beginning.

 

Welcome.

 

🖤