By Errachid Montassir HAF Project Manager Every year, the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) celebrates its National Tree Planting Day on the third Monday of January, which coincides with Martin Luther King Day, by planting trees with farmers, women, and youth across various Moroccan regions.  This year, the event came on the 21st of January, a

Gabriella Moocarme Project Manager Leadership Development Institute Al-Akhawayn University While Ifrane was getting covered under a white sheet of snow, I was glad to join Abdelillah Ghmiza–a representative of the High Atlas Foundation–for a tree planting day in the warmer region of Meknes on that Monday, 21st of January 2019. The High Atlas Foundation organised the

Financial Manager and Women Empowerment trainer Annually, on the third Monday of January, the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) holds a high-profile day of national tree planting across Morocco.  On this day—the 21st of January this year—Fatima Zahra Laaribi, HAF’s financial Manager, and Abderrahim Baddah, HAF’s nursery caretaker, headed toward Amizmiz, a small mountain town located 60

عبدالهادي كستيح متطوع بمؤسسة الأطلس الكبير دعت مؤسسة الأطلس الكبير الاثنين الماضي والموازي للواحد والعشرينمن ينايرالجاري الساكنة المحلية المغربية لغرس آلاف الأشجار التي قامت بتوزيعها بمناسبة “يوم غرس الأشجار”، وهو حدث سنوي تقوم به المؤسسة، نظرا لما له من مساهمة في التنمية الاقتصادية والاجتماعية والبيئية عبر المملكة المغربية. وكباقي المناطق التي تشتغل بها المؤسسة عرفت

بقلم عبد اللطيف البناني ضيف شرف مع مؤسسة الاطلس الكبير يوم 21 يناير2019 الواحد والعشرون من يناير كانون الثاني صار يوما مشهودا في المغرب عامة ومؤسسة الأطلس الكبير بصفة خاصة، إنه اليوم الوطني للتشجير الذي يتصادف مع موسم غرس الأشجار شعارهم في ذلك “ازرع شجرة تنشر الحياة والأمل، ازرع شجرة تحافظ على حياة أبنائك وأحفادك

Par Karam Yann Volontaire FHA  Honnêtement je ne savais pas comment commencer cet article, ce qui m’attendait durant cette sortie allait au-delà de ce que j’imaginais. Commençons alors par le tout début. A huit heures du matin, je rencontrai mes deux compagnons du voyage, Kerstin et Juliana pour prendre un grand taxi de la gare

Youssef El Moussaoui HAF Volunteer Once in a lifetime experience. Annually, on the third Monday of January, the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) organizes a nationwide tree planting campaign. On this January 21st 2019, the HAF team planted trees with communities in many places, including Sidi Bouathmane (Ait Imloul). Ait Imloul is an arid village about 20

by Juliana B. Feltrin HAF Intern The HAF National Tree Day was very rewarding. We went to the Sidi Zouine Hospital, to plant trees. We were greeted by Mustafa, the president of Association El Wafa, who told us about the place. We started counting the amount of trees that would be planted, together with children

It was a beautiful day today, the 21st of January 2019, meeting farmers and members of associations, meeting high school students, kindergarteners, and municipal representatives. We loved today, learning from elderly people who planted fig trees 80 years ago, and from volunteers who planted pomegranate trees at a newly constructed school.  We were in villages,

by Rachael Diniega Peace Corps Morocco Volunteer My town’s middle and high school campus with olive trees Fifty trees for the middle and high school, and over one hundred trees for the elementary school, equaling more than 150 chances for youth in my town to dig in the soil, care for another living organism, and

Manon Burbidge Lund University HAF Intern – Marrakech As the sun sets on my three months with the High Atlas Foundation in Marrakech, I return to the experiences I have had, the lessons I have learned and the people I have met. My first two weeks were jam-packed with field visits and outings to diverse

Manon Burbidge Lund University HAF Intern – Marrakech Morocco to Invest $14bn in Renewable Energy Morocco is working towards achieving its goal of 52% renewable energy by 2030 by putting $14bn of investment into the renewable energy sector. Included amongst larger scale projects are installations of off-grid solar capacity which will reach 1000 rural villages

French version Arabic version MEDIA RELEASE                                                    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday 17th January 2019 Tree Planting Day provides economic, social and environmental development across Morocco Moroccan communities are being invited to plant thousands

Celina Boehmer, HAF Intern This week, part of the HAF-Team is travelling from Marrakech to Fes and then to Midelt area to collect and distribute 7100 trees to local communities. Our first stop was Fes, where we picked up the 7100 trees for the communities. We arrived in Fes and went to the Abdelaziz Ben

HAF volunteer, Thomas J. Watson Fellow On Monday, project manager Said Bennani, volunteer Celina, and I began our weeklong excursion to Fes and Midelt for environmental workshops and tree-planting activities.  On Tuesday, we visited the Abdelaziz Ben Driss child protection center to conduct an environmental workshop with the boys, plant trees, and help load 7,100

HAF Intern (from Germany) I was excited about my first field visit and about getting to know what the High Atlas Foundation’s work looks like in action, because before starting my internship, I only saw the social media posts, blog articles, and photos. This day, we didn’t travel long, as we went to two schools

   Under the auspices of the University of Virginia, the High Atlas Foundation’s President, Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir, will lead a four-credit academic internship program from May 27th to July 19th in Marrakech on the practical and theoretical dimensions of participatory development. While completing internships at the HAF and engaging in related coursework, students will facilitate communities’ planning of projects

Yossef Ben-Meir, Ph.D. President High Atlas Foundation I had such a memorable day today in Amman, Jordan, thanks to the Bureau of Oceans,  International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES), with whom the High Atlas Foundation has a grants program to benefit local civil associations in this stunning country of thoroughly deep, even biblical, historical culture. I met

Errachid Montassir HAF project The High Atlas Foundation (HAF) and the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES) continue to spread the vision of protecting the environment amongst the next generation, with the presence of Moroccan civil society members. Lwidan rural commune in Marrakech region was our stop this time, where we

By Nisreen Abo-Sido, HAF Volunteer, Thomas J. Watson Fellow Last week, I joined HAF Project Manager, Amina El Hajjami, and an engineer from Agence du Bassin Hydrauliques on a visit to Tassa Ouirgane village to assess the feasibility of constructing gabions along the river for flood-prevention.  A member of the local association guided us and explained the

Zineb Sfar Volontaire, Douar Tizian En tant qu’étudiante à l’Université Privée de Marrakech (UPM), j’ai eu l’occasion de participer à un atelier sur l’environnement avec la Fondation du Haut Atlas pour le Douar de TIZYAN, avec le soutien du Bureau International Océanique, Environnemental et Scientifique des États-Unis. A l’heure de notre arrivé, nous avons eu

 The High Atlas Foundation (HAF) is committed to promoting sustainable development, using a participatory-action approach to address challenges identified by communities.  While partnering with community members, local associations, schools, municipal governing bodies, and other stakeholders, HAF believes in the efficacy of sustained communication and meaningful involvement in fostering skills and methods to enact positive

Manon Burbidge Lund University, Sweden HAF Inter- Marrakech French Development Agency Lends €50 Million to Improve Moroccan Water Supply The Moroccan Electricity and Drinking Water Bureau (ONEE) received €50m to implement a drinking water resilience project in Morocco’s northern provinces, including Al-Hoceima, Driouch and Taounate. The project will strengthen water production, increase storage autonomy and improve

بقلم: إبراهيم بحماني الراعي  مراكش نظمت جمعية الوفاء بمنطقة سيد الزوين بالشراكة مع مؤسسة الأطلس الكبير وجمعية الأيادي الصادقة بمراكش وجمعية قدماء تلاميذ الثانوية الإعدادية الماوردي وبدعم من قبل مكتب المحيطات والشؤون البيئية والعلمية الدولية، مكتب العلوم في وزارة الخارجية الأمريكية (OES). نشاطا بيئيا متميزا يخص عملية تشجير فضاء المركز الصحي بسيد الزوين، والذي يبعد

By Aitana Arias, HAF volunteer Members of the HAF team had the chance to visit the Central Hospital of Sidi Zouine and get involved with the village community. HAF has previously planted trees in schools but this time we had the chance to plant trees at a hospital yard for a good reason: to make

Greetings Friends, Here we have a final moment in 2018 where we can give to uplift the course of families, communities, schools, cooperatives, women’s groups, and youth. Morocco is creating opportunities for its people by encouraging through its policies and programs public participation in all aspects of development. For local communities of the nation to

 By SAID EL BENNANI, Project Manager Crossing the High Atlas Mountains—from Marrakech to Ouarzazate—to get to the Ighrem N’Ougdal commune, the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) decided with the Jewish community in Morocco and all of the local authorities to start planning the first fruit tree nursery in the Draa Tafilalet region. This follows the successful

Project Manager Traveling to the Bouchan commune was my first field visit with the High Atlas Foundation (HAF), when I was a volunteer in 2016. I had the chance again this year to take part in the tree-planting event and an environmental workshop with local farmers from the same village at the school. The weather

Errachid Montassir HAF project manager At present, the world community has limited options for responding to humanitarian crises. It’s time to engage more the youth in building plans in order to create a collective commitment of key actors to ensure that the priorities and rights of communities around the world affected by disaster, conflict, forced

By Nisreen Abo-Sido, HAF Volunteer, Thomas J. Watson Fellow Last week, HAF President Yossef Ben-Meir, program assistant Hassan Ait Ouatouch, a couple of forestry engineers and I visited farmers and community leaders in the villages of Aghbalou and Anamer, and in the Azilal Province to discuss the potential of carbon credits to support development projects