– In Morocco difference is a strength, The Policy Times, By Caroline Kirk (HAF Intern), 28 August 2019. Morocco’s belief in the strength of pluralism has energized me and shown me that difference can serve as a strength for any country, whether it is religious or secular, large or small, developed or developing. I was told

By Alissa Brenn HAF intern and graduate student at Zurich University of Applied Sciences The Kingdom of Morocco has set high goals: According to the country’s energy strategy, 52% of its energy needs should be met through renewable means of energy production by 2030. However, the ultimate goal in the age of climate change is

Hajiba Boumasmar HAF intern The exclusion of illiterate women from the community was the motive for fighting against illiteracy. Today – accompanied by Amina, HAF’s Director of Projects, Ilyas – HAF’s photographer, and Hassan the driver and assistant – we supervised a ceremony for a group of women of the Aboughlou cooperative who benefited from

حجيبة بومسمار متدربة بمؤسسة الاطلس الكبير خريجة كلية العلوم و التقنيات – مراكش نسوة كافحن و جاهدن أكتر من إتنا عشرة شهرا في سبيل تعلم حرف واحد أبجدي ٫واليوم تم تتويجهم في حفل يحمل كلا من  الفرحة و البهجة لا زمان ولا مكان للتعلم يمكنك أن تتعلم في أي وقت٫ فقط آلإارادة هي المحرك٠ أن

HAF Intern, UVA student What is scalability? At its core, scalability is expansion, and often unlimited expansion without the need to redefine any of the fundamental elements. Such a concept enters the field of development when discussions of projects, organizational capacity, and networks center around expansion. The number of communities that participate in a women’s

Hajiba Boumasmar HAF Intern I was fortunate to participate in the four-day Imagine empowerment workshop from the 5th to the 8th of August with HAF trainer Ibtisam and her colleague Rachida. The workshop targeted the women of Ghammat in their process of forming the Cooperative of Chaabat Ghamat for Bees. The workshop was aimed to

Hajiba Boumasmar HAF Intern, University student Nous avons visité deux pépinières de la région de Marrakech, Cette visite a eu un impact positif sur le choix de la Fondation du Haut Atlas de continuer ma carrière professionnelle après l’obtention d’un Master en biotechnologie et développement durable des agro-ressources. Je suis toujours passionnée par l’agriculture et

Carol Ma Yau Ka HAF intern, CUHK student On 27th July, I had the opportunity to visit one of HAF’s “Imagine” workshops, organized in the valley of Ourika. The workshops aim at empowering women both financially and personally, providing a space for learning, discussion and inspiration. It was the first time that Rachida, apprentice trainer

Carol Ma Yau Ka HAF intern, CUHK student Morocco has a relatively young population, with 42% of its citizens aged below 25. The young population provides Morocco with strong human capital, and thus huge potential for future development. However, youth in Morocco are facing great difficulty in terms of education, employment and inequality. In the

On July 26, 2019, Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir, President of the High Atlas Foundation (HAF), was invited by AFCD Foundation in Ait Ourir as a leader to give a talk about HAF’s scope, activities, and approaches to sustainable community development. The talk, which was one hour long, is a part of the agenda of a workshop

Under the auspices of the University of Virginia (UVA) and with the support of the High Atlas Foundation team (HAF), a four-credit academic internship course was taught in Marrakech – Morocco, from May 27 to July 19, 2019. The course, which is entitled “Participatory Development in Practice” focused on local development – from design to implementation and

– Agricultural Literacy: A Solution to Youth Idleness and Unemployment, Global Research, By Anya Karaman (HAF Intern),  27 July 2019. • Arabic: Al-Watan Voice, 1 August 2019. Field work for youth: How getting their hands in the soil could help young Moroccans land a job. At a juvenile detention center in Fes, it feels like summer camp is all year round. There, “maximum

– Reintegrating Moroccan Males In National And Global Interest – OpEd, Eurasia Review, By Caleb Tisdale (HAF Intern), 19 July 2019. • Arabic:Al-Watan Voice, 3 August 2019. Attracting young people to radical, extremist ideas is not hard. Just ask the ISIS recruiters behind one of the most effective propaganda presences in the world. Extremist groups are so effective at

– ‘Without Health, We have nothing’: Need for holistic Sustainable Development in Morocco, Devdiscourse, By Fariha Mujeebuddin (HAF Intern), 01 August 2019.  • Arabic: Al-Watan Voice, 6 August 2019. After a windy uphill journey to Aguerzran, a small village nestled within the High Atlas Mountains, we reached the building where we would be conducting workshops. The small rectangular building,

By Said Bennani HAF Project Manager As a High Atlas Foundation (HAF) Project Manager, my main objective is to work with Moroccan communities and HAF nursery caretakers—of more 13 nurseries around the country—to ensure proper care of the trees, from the time we plant a seed until it becomes a seedling. In partnership with Ecosia,

By Camelia Harkousse, HAF intern July 25, 2019 On July 23, 2019, Ms. Fatima-Zahra Laaribi participated in a webinar dedicated to Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) projects funded by USAID. The objective of the seminar was to give an opportunity for stakeholders involved in future similar projects to benefit from lessons learned and experiences gained by fellow NGOs

Errachid Montassir HAF project manager “The world is facing a grave climate emergency – disruption is happening now and faster than top scientists predict,” The UN Secretary-General, Mr. Guterres also made an impassioned call for greater support to help develop the green economy. Abu Dhabi hosted the Climate Meeting on June 30th and July 1st,

– Taking a Leap: The risk of development, on a human level, Scoop World, By Sarita Mehta (HAF Intern), 17 July 2019. • Arabic: Al-Watan Voice, 23 July 2019. As a child, I frequently remember many lazy summer days spent lugging my purple Huffy bike up the cement dunes of my suburban neighborhood. Following the parade of my two older

Camelia Harkousse HAF Intern On Monday July 1st, a group of students who are on a conflict resolution and peace-building class at George Mason University (GMU) and their professor, accompanied by HAF President Dr. Yossef and HAF Director of Project Ms. Amina, visited the Aboghlo women’s cooperative in T’nine Ourika. This cooperative could be stated

HAF Intern, UVA student She stands out in my memory as the most beautiful girl in the room. Her eyes bright with desire and friendship. She wore bold jewelry–a big ring and matching necklace. She was silly and wanted to talk and take pictures. She ran down to the creek first and asked me to

Alissa Brenn HAF Intern, graduate student On a sunny Friday morning, the High Atlas Foundation took us on a field trip to the village of Tassa Ouirgane in the Al-Haouz province. Our small but very international group consisted of students from the George Mason University in Virginia, student volunteers from all over the world, and

By Kerstin Opfer, High Atlas Foundation Electricity and energy are two of the key challenges in Africa – 2/3 of Africa’s population still has no access to electricity. Additionally electricity demand is assumed to triple until 2030. Increased use of renewable energy (RE) can help address these challenges. Africa has a considerable and largely untapped

HAF Intern, UVA student Something I have been thinking about is the relationship between top-down and bottom-up development. Community-led, participatory development plays an undeniably important role in global development within economic, political, and social spheres. I’ve seen HAF initiate local economic development through cooperative building and agricultural support for rural farmers; grassroots political movements can

HAF Intern, UVA Student I went to Ait Ourir, a city about 30 minutes outside of Marrakech to visit the Riad school. The school is surrounded by a six-foot wall that is covered by murals mainly pertaining to environmental issues. The school currently has 1,222 students, with boys and girls ages 5-12 years old, 480

HAF Intern, UVA Student This week was spent with young Moroccan women at Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech in the Imagine Women’s Empowerment workshop. The attendees were mainly University of Virginia students, me, and 5-7 Marrakech University students, and it was very powerful to witness the evolution of the confidence and comfort level among the

This week we took part in the four day IMAGINE workshop at Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech, with a small group of Moroccan students. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the sessions at the beginning, since there were so many different experiences in the room. Having led and participated in women’s empowerment workshops at

Camelia Harkousse HAF Intern On Wednesday 26th of June, the group accompanied by HAF Project Manager Errachid Mountassir visited a primary school in Bouchane Rhamna, where the children are learning about environmentalism. The pupils presented for the audience a play in classical Arabic. It was about forgiveness and tolerance. I was astonished how skillfully they

I didn’t think I would need to learn how to imagine at the Imagine workshops this week, but a rerouting and adjustment of my own mind became necessary. I am a pro at these workshops; engagement, listening, asking questions, empowerment. I mean I lead these activities for girls through my sorority, class service, and even

HAF Intern This week was all about women empowerment, we had a women’s workshop for four days and it was my first time to experience it. I did not know what to expect and how it will turn out… The workshop was led by HAF empowerment trainers – Amina El Hajjami, Fatima Zahra Laaribi and

HAF Intern, UVA student SCATTERED. For the past week, I’ve been trying to put into words, or just one word, what the four-day women’s empowerment workshop meant to me and I feel scattered just trying. All at once, the workshop was challenging, easy, meditative, analytical, goal-oriented, present-focused, relaxing, irritating, draining, and energizing. I’ve written down