by Julian Stoiber, Haf-Volunteer On November 24th, 2021, the Coordination and Support Action (CSA) LEAP4FNSSA held a webinar about “The Role of Multi-Stakeholder Platforms in Creating an Enabling Environment for the Sustainable Transformation of the FNSSA Sector.” The main objective of LEAP4FNSSA is to provide a tool for European and African institutions to engage in

By Julian Stoiber, HAF Volunteer View from first High Atlas Foundation (HAF) House of Life interfaith fruit tree nursery in the village of Akrich. November 2021. Photo: Julian Stoiber/HAF The Akrich tree nursery, about half an hour outside of Marrakech, was the first among many nurseries that the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) brought into being.

By Amal Mansouri, HAF Field Coordinator, REMA Being and feeling rich in my beautiful small city, Er-rich, is not a challenge. In fact, it’s incredibly easy. You just have to live there and you’ll understand. With that being said, a lot of people would be wondering how this is even possible. Is it easy to

By Soukaina Kherdioui, HAF Field Coordinator, REMA Program Tilouine, a small village in southeastern Morocco, is known for their sweet Fagous dates and olive groves. Photo taken in 2015 by REMA Field Coordinator Soukaina Kherdioui. Tilouine is my mother’s hometown. It’s a small village located on the outskirts of Errachidia. I still recall the time

By Sarah Whiteside Throughout the Bible, trees are mentioned multiple times, often in relation to the production of fruit; the first mention of trees is in Genesis 11:9-10 where “God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds,

By Jamal Maghiouzi, Cultural Field Coordinator I left my village of Ait Kassi Ouali at 6:30 in the morning to travel the 90 kilometers to Ouarzazate in a grand taxi before taking another for about five hours to the outskirts of Taroudant. I traveled from Taroudant to Ait Iazza, and then finally from Ait Iaazza

Bobby McDonough HAF-UVA Intern As the COVID-19 pandemic maintains its position as the international community’s chief issue to battle , its far-reaching effects can be felt particularly in poorer, marginalized communities. One obstacle that continues to grow in relevance is the subject of food security—the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of

By Amina El Hajjami HAF trainers provided the first two days of an IMAGINE workshop on October 23-24 in the Tazart commune in Al Haouz Province. Twenty-four women from the Attahadi Association for the Development of Rural Women were in attendance. One woman commented, “As women in the Tazart commune, we are very strong and

by Said Bennani, HAF Project Manager, and Mohamed El Kadiri, Tree Monitoring Officer Mohamed El Kadiri, Mohamed Ben Yassine, and Said Bennani visited Errachidia province to monitor fruit trees that the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) planted there with local communities. At the end of September, 12,000 fruit trees were monitored, as were 5,000 more in

كتب هذا المقال عن ورشة التمكين الذاتي التي أقيمت بدوار بوكنالة، بجماعة عين مديونة بإقليم تاونات، في إطار برنامج الذي نظمه فريق العيادة القانونية لكلية الحقوق التابعة لجامعة سيدي محمد بن عبد الله بفاس وأشرفت عليه مؤسسة الأطلس الكبير بتنسيق مع جمعية العمل للتضامن والتنمية نظمت مؤسسة الأطلس الكبير ورشة للتمكين الذاتي للنساء بين الفترة

By: Jennan Al-Hamdouni, Director of Engagement and Advocacy, REMA U.S. Consul General Lawrence Randolph and President of the Jewish Community in the Marrakech-Safi region Jacky Kadoch at the first High Atlas Foundation (HAF) House of Life interfaith nursery in Akrich. November 2021. Photo: HAF What brings people together in celebration of heritage, cultural identity, and

– Bravo, University Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Modern Ghana. Arabic: Al-bayader, 26 October 2021. French version By Yossef Ben-Meir Marrakech Olive tree saplings at USMB in Fes (High Atlas Foundation, 2021) Our communities and our world in this time of pandemic, climate challenges, and injustice call upon us to build and design anew programs and infrastructure

By: Zineb Mellouki, HAF Legal Aid Assistant A workshop facilitated by the Legal Clinic in Fes with the artisans of the Sefrou medina in September 2021. Photo: HAF On September 28-29, 2021, a meeting took place between staff from the Legal Aid Clinic in Fes (Clinique Juridique de la Faculté de Droit – CJFD) and

By Lahcen Ben Moula Tree Monitor Officer, Oujda Region High Atlas Foundation Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir, President of the High Atlas Foundation, organized an applied workshop on the participatory approach and its role in achieving sustainable development with the local population, during the second day of the training week organized by the High Atlas Foundation in

Advika Roongta HAF-UVA Intern The vital role of civil society organizations in furthering development goals is well established. Civil society organizations serve as important sources of information, help to hold governments accountable, advocate for a variety of causes, develop and offer policy alternatives, defend human rights, provide key goods and services, and so much more.

By Henry Prillaman On October 27th, I had the pleasure of attending The World Resources Institute Land Accelerator Africa Impact Days program. We heard from top 15 innovative entrepreneurs out of 1,370 applicants pitch their unique businesses and ideas for creating a better and greener future for Africa. Their proposals were designed to show investors

By Julian Stoiber/HAF Intern Siahmed Hazel explaining to the women of Douar Lkdirat, how to establish a cooperative (Photo Cr.: Julian Stoiber) On October 25th, Programs and Office Manager Sanae Benaadim, Field Technician Mustapha Itihya, and Volunteers Timo Reinitzer and Julian Stoiber joined Siahmed Hazil from the Office du Développement de la Coopération (ODCO) in

By Gabrielle Rosario HAF-UVA Intern Ten years ago, the Movement on Road 96, an environmental and social group of locals from Imider, Morocco, began a protest against the Société Métallurgique d’Imiter (SMI) by shutting off a water valve that previously diverted water from the mountain reservoir towards flushing a silver mine. For decades, the silver

By Zineb Laadam HAF Field Officer September 2021—The High Atlas Foundation (HAF) team members met with the TIGMMI cooperative members in Tissfan municipality (Taroudant province) to identify their needs and challenges. The TIGMMI cooperative was created in Tigmmi n’Targa village in 2007 by 17 women and 24 men, and was supported by the local Targa

By Bobby McDonough HAF-UVA Intern HAF defines their mission as a “commitment to furthering sustainable development and supporting Moroccan Communities to take action in implementing human development initiatives.” The premier avenue through which this is accomplished is facilitating projects within marginalized, rural communities that educate community members on how to plant and raise trees— laying

By Henry Prillaman HAF Intern The World Resources Institute held a discussion on September 29th, titled “Strong Public Policies To Restore Land, Breaking Through the Barriers to Success,” illuminating the need for current policies around the world to be changed. Putting money in the wrong places through policies that discourage farmers and marginalized groups has

By Moulay Hassan Aladlouni Country Director, HAF-F2F Program The High Atlas Foundation’s Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) team met the members of the Adfal Association in a very remote mountain area. During the trip, the team had to unexpectedly leave the car and walk for 1.5 hours to Timichi village, which sits at an altitude of 1,920 meters,

Catrin Waters HAF-UVA Intern This past Friday, a lovely moment of peace was shared across continents with a short yoga class led by High Atlas Foundation-University of Virginia Intern, Catrin Waters. The HAF members and trainees present were able to collaborate to create a multilingual and restorative few minutes of presence, with HAF President Yossef

By Fatima Zahra Laaribi Program Manager, Women’s Empowerment HAF and Association Bayti meet with 13 local CSOs who are preserving local heritage in Essaouira. Many treasures are hidden within the coastal Mogador city, today known as Essaouira, which is characterized by its rich, multidimensional culture. This small city is a melting pot of Amazighen, Arab,

– Hydroponics And Vertical Agriculture In Morocco And The World, The Garden Center News. By Carter and Henry Prillaman A vision for the future of agriculture and possible implementation in Marrakech, Morocco Our agriculture system as we know it needs to change. We see an enormous amount of waste in current practices through using up

By Sarah Whiteside HAF-UVA Intern Image Source: The Eudafano Women’s Co-operative in Namibia. Twitter, 19 Jan. 2021, twitter.com/unctad/status/1351485621186002944. Accessed 1 Oct. 2021. Namibia is a country situated in South-Western Africa along the Atlantic Ocean, and it is home to five characteristic geographic regions: the Central Plateau, the Namib Desert, the Caprivi Strip, the Kaokoveld, and

بقلم عبد الصمد ايت فاتح أما بعد وفي هذا المقام لا يسعني إلا أن أشكركم جميعا، لأنكم منحتم لنا فرصة قد لا تعوض أبدا، فرصة ميدانية في مؤسستكم المسماة “مؤسسة الأطلس الكبير” مؤسسة قبل أن تكون ربحية هي مؤسسة تطوعية خيرية، تحاول أن تدخل البهجة والسرور على الساكنة البسيطة خاصة القروية منها، حقا كل عضو

By Youssef Tahiri and Amina El Hajjami, HAF Team In the Tigmi Ntrga Village located in the Tisfan Commune, HAF has made notable progress toward achieving objectives for a UNDP-funded project to build agroforestry systems as a means of economic recovery from the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Since the project began in June 2021,

بقلم فاطمة المريني     تمكنت مؤسسة الاطلس الكبير الرائدة الغنية عن التعريف تحت إدارة وتسيير الدكتور يوسف بن مير من ابرام شراكة مهمة ومتينة مع خدمة الغابات الأمريكية ، بغية بناء مجتمع من مسؤولي المشاريع  والفاعلين المؤثرين ، من خلال إنشاء برنامج غني بالموارد البشرية المتمكنة ذات خبرة عالية في المجال ومختصين محترفين يجعلون

by Gabrielle Rosario HAF – UVA Intern Africa currently faces an unemployment crisis with some of the highest unemployment rates in the world, and according to the World Bank, African youth make up 60% of unemployed workers. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to harm economies globally, unemployment rates accelerate, especially in Africa. Although some speculate