Written by Khomenko Ekaterina HAF Volunteer Land degradation is a large issue for Morocco. The Atlas Mountains dominate the central part of the country, explaining why much of the landscape is mountainous with slopes that gradually transition into plateaus and valleys, which are very dry during the summer. Even such, dry areas can be made

       ( لقاء تواصل وتعارف مع السيد الكاتب العام لعمالة (اقليم الحوز

– High Atlas Foundation’s Errachid Montassir Selected To Attend The Un Youth Climate Summit In New York, APN NEWS, By Yossef Ben-Meir (HAF President), 16 September 2019. Errachid with rural primary school students, conducting an environmental workshop in Ait Hamou municipality in the Marrakech region (Photo by Nisreen Abo-Sido; January 2019). Errachid Montassir of Morocco, a project

By Stefano Dessena HAF Intern What can you do when one cannot count on the abundance of natural resources? You can count on the insights of creative people, and that is our case. This time one great idea can help a lot of people in need and can change their lives. The access to clean

Georgina Kenchington HAF Volunteer Quote of the day: mother nature is most definitely in charge here. Approximately 270 kilometers, or 3.5 hours drive from Oujda lies Bouarfa, the destination of my first experience with cooperatives as a volunteer with the High Atlas Foundation. More specifically, the Farmer-to-Farmer USAID Project, which aims to harness the potential

Georgina Kenchington HAF Volunteer No matter where you are in the world, it’s (nearly) guaranteed, unless something has gone horribly wrong with the solar system, that every evening the sun will set and colors will dance across the sky before dusk, and eventually darkness, take hold. It’s a perfect time for reflection and to simply

By Camelia Harkousse HAF Intern What a better way to connect with your roots and Moroccan-ity than celebrating Eid al-Adha with Moroccan Amazighs in the High Atlas Mountains? Eid al-Adha is one of the most important religious celebrations in Morocco and how it’s called here is a great indicator of that; “Eid Makourne” (Eid al-Kebir)

By Imane Akhezzane Project Manager As a part of a multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSP) project on renewable energy in Morocco, the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) facilitated a conference of Climate Action Network – Arab World in Rabat on September 1st, under the topic: Current State of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) Review in the Arab Region Towards

By Yaniv Teitel HAF Intern, graduate student at the Glocal program I got the chance to join HAF’s Farmer-to-Farmer staff on their first meeting with the Pomegranate Cooperative at Awlad Abdallah. Farmer-to-Farmer is a capacity-building program that HAF is conducting in rural areas in Morocco as part of a partnership with USAID. It was a

By Natalia Rutkowska HAF Intern It has been already a week in Morocco. However, just today I experienced cultural shock. Wednesday, at 8:54am, we came to the Hight Atlas Foundation office all prepared for today’s workshop. At the doors, a young intern named Layla welcomed us and she started to describe the main assumption of

By Isabel Clark World Challenge Team Member As part of my World challenge trip to Morocco I was expecting to work on a local initiative in the Tizian village but I never realised how rewarding the experience would be. On the 7th of July my World challenge team and I said ‘Salam’ to Morocco. We

By Hajiba Boumasmar HAF Intern I had the pleasure of accompanying Said, HAF Project Manager; Hassan, an assistant; and Tobi, a teacher at United World Colleges, on two nursery visits in the Marrakech region. As someone who has always been passionate about agriculture and the environment, the nursery visits had a positive impact on my

– 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