The green hills that used to surround the Moroccan cities of Fez, Ifran and Oujda have turned amber. Years of intensive grazing have depleted the soil of its nutrients. Only the oldest villagers remember that their home used to be green, and cooler. The absence of the ancient forests is so real, so striking, that

By Maurice Polczynski and Jana Kaben The Azzaden Valley is part of the El Houz region, 70 km south of Marrakech. It is near the Toubkhal national park, which is developed towards tourists. In contrast, the nine villages of the Azzaden Valley are nearly off the beaten tourist track, which is beautiful. We found the Moroccan

My first solo participatory meeting in Tororde, Azzaden Valley Another big day today: my first solo participatory meeting! I met up with Farid and Hamid in the building of their organisations, which doubles as classroom and day-care for the smallest children due to lack of sufficient classrooms. At first I feared it was only going

By Ulrica Muffatto HAF summer intern On the 10th of August we took part in an interesting meeting in Setti Fadma, province of Al Haouz. Representatives of the surrounding villages were present at the meeting, as well as local authorities and the mayor of Setti Fadma. The objective of the meeting was to present HAF’s

 By Gal Kamarski, HAF Intern & Graduate Student   Last Friday, HAF staff conducted a marketing workshop with the women’s cooperative center in Tenine-Ourika. Our project manager, Amina, and one of our volunteers, Davide (from Italy), led the workshop.  Gal (myself), the HAF Intern and graduate student from Jerusalem, took photos and notes (also kept

By Max Bone Social Media Team Member I am sharing an interesting documentary that suggests that “Not-so-Ugly Americans” outside of the United States are Peace Corps Volunteers. The Peace Corps, which was founded in 1961 by the late President Kennedy to promote “peace and friendship across the world” has sent over 225,000 volunteers to 193

At the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in the city of Ben Guerir, the OCP Group organized a two day workshop about a new program they are launching, called Community Service. The OCP Group has a Board that was created to carry out the social and societal commitment of the organization.  Its main goal is to

On the 11th and 12th of September 2017, three HAF staff members participated in a workshop organized by OCP at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in  Ben Guerir, located in the Rhamna Province. There were 200 participants in the workshop, including OCP employees active in the voluntary sector, members from Foundation OCP and Phosboucraa Foundation, local

By Max Bone Social Media Team Memeber  The High Atlas Foundation is thrilled to announce a new partnership with FRÉ, a company that uses organic argan oil to offer a skincare solution for women who work out, formulated for skin that sweats. FRÉ uses argan that is harvested and processed in Morocco, and they are committed to giving

By Jan T.  HAF Intern  Rachid and I visit the often overlooked villages of the Vallée d’Azzaden and meet with local people. Efforts to coordinate actions and stimulate cooperation throughout the Vallée d’Azzaden are starting to take shape. To facilitate our communication, we decided to host a breakfast with community members (some of whom are

Dr. Rachid El Kouhen, Sami’s father This year we commemorate the 10 year anniversary of Sami’s passing.  We continue to remember his smile, love and beautiful memories within us and through the thousands of kids impacted by Sami’s Project.  The planting and distribution of trees with children is the foundation of Sami’s Project.  It empowers kids by providing a feeling of

Jan Thibaut HAF Intern, graduate student Another pretty productive and successful day today. In the early afternoon I had a meeting with the teachers I had met yesterday at the school in the Village of Tororde in the Azzaden Valley. One of the teachers, Zahara, was kind enough to set up a meeting with people

By Gal Kamarski  HAF Inter, Graduate Student  Last week, our staff, including our trainer Ibtisam, manager Fatima-Zahra, and myself, conducted a four-day workshop with twenty women from Agbalo (اغبالو) in the Ourika valley. Women varied in ages from 21 to over 50 years old (most of them in their twenties, or forties) from three different

Marwa Natsheh Through her internship in Morocco, the writer has been inspired to think differently about interfaith relationships. This article presents this experience and highlights the lack of global perspectives of those living in the midst of a conflict. From the first day I landed in Morocco for my internship, I have learned more than

By Gal Kramarski HAF Intern Graduate Student Amongst processes of democratization, traditions and the Islamic sharia, stands the debate around women’s personal-status-law in Morocco, Mudawana. Enacted in 1958, after gaining independence from France, Moudawana expressed Morocco’s unique identity, culture, and connection to the Islamic and Arabic heritage. Moudawana was the first official codex to set particular family legislation

By Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir HAF President Various perspectives exist on the relationship between participation in development and empowerment.  First, that there is indeed a relationship is now widely recognized.[1] Some writers suggest that empowerment and participation are actually one and the same.  “Participation is another name for empowerment.”[2] Just as with other concepts, however, empowerment is

Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir President High Atlas Foundation There is a joy I feel when talking about Morocco, and the role of the High Atlas Foundation in the great national project to catalyze participatory development with all the nation’s villages and neighborhoods.  It is a dream and reality.  Morocco set itself on a path of democratic

By Errachid Montassir  Project Manager, Sami’s Project  Driving 70 kilometers on a unpaved road from the Aouloz commune in the province of Taroudant, you will find Lake Ifni nestled amid the towering peaks of the Tigolal mountains, near Mount Toubkal.  This blue lake, according to local people, is a place that many young and hopeful

Jack Butler, Ph.D High Atlas Foundation Volunteer The High Atlas Foundation produces trees. And in the process, it helps people at every step along the way. From schools and youth support centers where High Atlas tree nurseries teach disadvantaged children the healing aspects of farming while they help to grow transplants, to destination family farms

Gal Kamarski   HAF Intern   This week, the High Atlas Foundation – including our project manager and coordinator, Amina, and myself – visited the Aboughlo Cooperative in Ourika. As the women who are part of the cooperative asked before, this workshop concentrated on the ability to trust. We started by asking: “Trusting who?” Each woman then

By Yossef Ben-Meir, Ph.D President of the High Atlas Foundation We are in the midst of a wrenching drought in Morocco.  There is ultimately no greater relief than rain.   There are though actions we can take together to help safeguard drinking water and the survival of the organic fruit trees we planted. Water conservation basically comes down to

By Fatima Zahra Laaribi Women’s Empowerment Trainer In the heart of Ourika Valley, the Aboghlou Women’s Cooperative, YSL Beauté, PUR Project, and the High Atlas Foundation succeeded in creating a beautiful organic nursery of calendula and other medicinal plants, as well as almond trees. The nursery is managed by the Cooperative of 39 women. The

– Volunteers Create Worlds, International Policy Digest, by Yossef Ben-Meir (HAF President) 29 November 2017. • French: Libération, 5 December 2017 A world created is one that begins with a path taken by an individual who gives time, energy, thought, and care without personal material return, to people seeking a genuine change.  The volunteer-of-oneself may begin this journey with

بقلم أمينة الحجامي مديرة مشروع مع مؤسسة الأطلس الكبير  جميل أن نعرف أن هناك أشخاص يدعموننا من بعيد لتحقيق أحلام العديد من النساء ببواد جبال الأطلس مند ثلاث سنوات و أن يكون هولاء الأشخاص من دولة أخرى لا لغة ولا ثقافة مشتركة، لكن لديهم إيمان بأننا في يوم من الأيام  سوف نحقق أحلام نساء لديهن

By Gregory Sullivan, Farmer-to-Farmer Volunteer The High Atlas Foundation (HAF) in Morocco is using innovative approaches to tackling poverty in this North Africa country,  as well as addressing the challenge of climate change.  HAF is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the livelihoods of rural households. The Foundation was established in 2000 by former Peace

Gal Kramarski HAF Intern The HAF team, including Fatima-Zahra, Amina, Ibtissam, Gal and Abd-El Jalil, visited the Village of Talatan in the Ourika Valley.  We have been working in this mountain region a lot, and it is always exciting to see it changing in front of our eyes. The weather is indeed changing too.  The beautiful mountains

Morocco is a place of infinite possibility.  That is so because of Morocco, its multicultural people, and its identity.  People’s participation in their development can occur in all its places, because it is encouraged – even obligatory – by multiple laws and programs of the land. The High Atlas Foundation (HAF) creates project and partnership models

A l’occasion de la semaine mondiale de l’entrepreneuriat, l’Ecole des Hautes Etudes Economiques, Commerciales et d’Ingénierie (HEEC) Marrakech a organisé le 20 décembre 2017 une journée de débat sous le thème : « l’entrepreneuriat, entre discours et pratiques » avec la participation de nombreux invités et représentants des organismes de formations, instances et d’encadrement, organismes de financement,

By Gal Kramarski HAF Intern About 70 km away from Marrakech, in one of the villages of Setti Fatma commune, several young girls are looking for ways to fulfill their dreams. “I can visualize my future, but I do not know the way I should take to reach there.” Indeed it seems as some of

Rains have come to Morocco, and farming families are now planting fruit trees for themselves and for generations to come.  They are forming cooperatives, and deeply hoping to add processing of their product and reach new markets.  The High Atlas Foundation assists with this entire process, including monitoring tree growth to gain carbon credits for