On the celebration of International Biodiversity Day on 22 May 2014, HAF President Dr Yossef Ben-Meir shared some of his thoughts about the preservation of biodiversity in Morocco The High Atlas Foundation partners with the High Commission for Water and Forests to advance human development with communities that neighbor Morocco’s ten national parks. This unique

– World Environment Day, Modern Ghana, 5 June 2014. World Environment Day is held annually on June 5 under UN auspices to highlight a particular area of environmental concern. The focus this year is on the unique challenges facing the world’s small islands in their battle with rising ocean levels – a far cry, it might seem,

HAF is very proud to be the recipient of an additional grant from the National Endowment for Democracy to transfer the type of training we have implemented in the community in Al Haouz Province to Essaouira Province, on Morocco’s Atlantic Coast. In order to ensure a broad geographical coverage, we plan to hold community meetings in three key locations

Visite des cimetières des Trois Religions réhabilitées par le fond des ambassadeurs pour la préservation culturelle à Essaouira, le jeudi 12 juin 2014 Terre de tolérance et de brassage des cultures, Essaouira accueillera l’Ambassadeur des Etats-Unis d’Amérique, Dwight L. Bush Sr, pour sa première visite dans la ville le 12 et 13 juin 2014. Lors

For 2014 on this day, held under UN auspices, the chosen theme is the incorporation of sustainable land management policies and practices into our collective response to climate change. In this context – and when considering the great mountain ranges as well as desert regions that exist in Morocco – the High Atlas Foundation wishes

On Friday, June 13, 2014, Lamia Bazir, representative of the High Atlas Foundation at the United Nations, was invited by UN Secretary General Envoy on Youth, Ahmed El Handaoui, to meet the new generation of youth leaders at the UNICEF Headquarters in New York. This meeting was the occasion for the young participants to share their plan of

On Wednesday, Microsoft YouthSpark provided matching funds at 100% for every donation from $10 up to $1,000 per donor per project. In addition, the project that raises the most funds will receive an additional $2,500, and the project that has the most unique donors will receive an additional $2,500. Moroccan youth, especially young women, lack

بمناسبة حلول شهر رمضان المعظم، تتقدم مؤسسة الأطلس الكبير باسم جميع أعضائها بتهنئة الناس في  بقاع العالم بهذا الشهر المبارك. آملين من   الله العلي القدير أن يمنه على الجميع بمزيد من الأجر والمغفرة والثواب.ويتقبل صيامنا وقيامنا ويلهمنا الصبر في جميع أعمالنا ويجعلها في ميزان  الحسنات ويجعل القرآن ربيع قلوبنا ونور صدورنا ويعيده علينا وعليكم باليمن والخير

امن انجاز: أمينة الحجا مي بمناسبة حلول شهر رمضان المعظم، تتقدم مؤسسة الأطلس الكبير باسم جميع أعضائها بتهنئة الناس في  بقاع العالم بهذا الشهر المبارك. آملين من   الله العلي القدير أن يمنه على الجميع بمزيد من الأجر والمغفرة والثواب.ويتقبل صيامنا وقيامنا ويلهمنا الصبر في جميع أعمالنا ويجعلها في ميزان  الحسنات ويجعل القرآن ربيع قلوبنا ونور صدورنا

HAF participates in the launch of UN Women’s Beijing + 20 Campaign “Empowering Women, Empowering Humanity. Picture it!” On June 26th, UN Women launched the “Beijing + 20” campaign “Empowering Women, Empowering humanity, Picture it!” at the historic Apollo theatre in New York City. Women and men from all around the world, including the HAF

This post draws text primarily from Julia Devlin’s excellent article: https://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2014/06/24-water-scarcity-growth-prospects-middle-east-north-africa-devlin “Today, countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are the most water scarce globally, with per capita freshwater supplies well below the water “poverty” line of 1,000 cubic meters per year. Arid conditions, low and variable rainfall and high rates of evaporation

HAF’s July Updates                                               View this email in your browser ما أسرع أيامك يا رمضان تأتي على شوق ولهفة، و تمضي على عجل. يا شهر الصيام ترفق ويا شهر القيام تمهل. نفوس العابدين اطمأنت

يوليوز2014 أنشئت مؤسسة الأطلس الكبير بجماعة أيت امحمد لإقليم أزيلال، جهة تادلة أزيلال بجبال الأطلس المتوسط مشروع فلاحي بيئي وقامت بلقاءات تواصلية مكثفة تهدف إلى تفعيل المقاربة التشاركية لفائدة نساء المنطقة (40) بمقر جمعية أسكا للمرأة والطفل، سردن جميع هموم و مشاكل المرأة التي تعاني منها في المنطقة مع مناقشة بعض الحلول، وكان إنشاء مشتل

In terms of sustainable human development, the story of Morocco – now celebrating the fifteenth anniversary of the accession of King Mohammed VI – is a highly compelling one. It resonates for all developing nations that seek to chart a similar course of structuring their institutions to include an ingredient shown to be vital for

On this special day, the High Atlas Foundation wishes its friends and partners in the Province of Boujdour success in all their undertakings to advance human development in their communities. That mothers with whom we meet will realize their full dreams for themselves and their children; that fishermen will build the communities with the amenities for health and prosperity

Thanks to the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the High Atlas Foundation has begun an agricultural cooperative-building training program in the Essaouira Province. Throughout April and May, HAF prepared for this program by finalizing the modalities, setting the budgets, clarifying objects and target groups, in addition to identifying the training centers and training participants and

As we send our sincere condolences to the family of Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Fatima Zahra, the High Atlas Foundation wishes His Majesty King Mohammed VI peace and health on his birthday.  We hope that in time joy supplants mourning, and that this special day marks the continued and greatly accelerated ascendancy of human

The High Atlas Foundation, a recipient of the Alliance for Global Good’s Innovation Fund, has been hard at work developing and implementing its social enterprise, High Atlas Agriculture and Artisanal (HA3). In 2012, the Alliance for Global Good granted the High Atlas Foundation funds to spur organic agriculture in the Toubkal site. Thanks to the initial

ORGANIC MOROCCAN NUTS Product Details*: Product 150-200 MT of certified organic walnuts Certifying agency Ecocert (USDA recognized) 1-year shelf life Clean & well-dried Grade US No 1 light pieces and halves Variety Walnut: Juglans regia (common walnut) Cost Sale price of $13.00/kg or $5.90/lb delivered FOB US Availability Available for export from Morocco mid-October, for

Dr. Ruth Huwe, a professor at the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington, recently taught a course, Organizational Behavior: Construction Management.  This course included case studies for construction management projects in Africa. The culmination of this course included a final project where they sought to find solutions that would assist with projects related to schools,

Two cellphones. Three numbers. Thirty to forty phone calls a day. A road trip-based work life, which, for seven years, has been separated from luxuries like regular hours, weekends and sleep. Needless to say, Dr. Abderrahim Ouarghidi, is a busy man. Officially the High Atlas Foundation’s director of programs in Marrakech, Ouarghidi, who focused his

Dr. Abderrahim Ouarghidi, Project and Training Manager at the High Atlas Foundation, recently visited a community in Burkina Faso, made possible by partnership the Center for International Forestry Research. Part of the Darga tribe, which borders Ghana, lives in the Dano commune, where Dr. Ouarghidi conducted his visit. Their commune is approximately a four and

This year, the theme for UNESCO’S International Literacy Day is “Literacy and Sustainable Development,” recognizing that literacy is key for sustainable human development. This is also recognized at the High Atlas Foundation, where many of our community-led initiatives work to empower and educate marginalized and rural Moroccans. In many rural communities, education takes second priority to sustaining livelihoods,

How to link students learning at universities with civic engagement and service in communities? To answer this question, 40 representatives of universities and NGOs from 10 Arab countries from North Africa and the Middle East were gathered from 1-3 September 2014 for a conference at the American University of Cairo. The aim of the conference

This 2014 day of democracy brings to the fore a great question – that begs an answer – facing the youth of the world and especially in countries in the Middle East and North Africa.  How can widespread and apparently uncompromising socio-economic despondency be addressed in a sustainable manner? The answer lies is an applied action

The mutually enforcing nature of bottom-up social development movements and top-down laws, policies and treaties, gives recognition to all people and groups that assist the coming-together of people to achieve the change they seek. It should be clear that if peace is to exist among humanity it must be rooted in local circumstances and local

The practice of organic agriculture combines traditional methods with today’s knowledge of health and environmental sustainability.  In Morocco it is generally observed that the more remote the farming communities – and most often the more disadvantaged – the less they apply pesticides and other chemicals to grow their crops in a productive way.  That is

The Al Haouz Province celebrated its 7th Walnut Festival this year from September 11th – 14th. It is the only Moroccan festival dedicated to walnuts with its first event taking place in 2004. Asni, located one hour south of Marrakech, is an area long known for its walnut production. In 1980 the president of the

In June of 2013 the Peace Corps Regional Directors held a meeting in Morocco. Susan L. Q. Flaherty attended the meeting and has shared her photographs from the trip with the High Atlas Foundation. One scrapbook displays photos of a Peace Corps meeting where attendees enjoyed a day of discussion, comradery, and singing. The second

HAF project manager Amina El Hajjami, who oversees Sami’s Project, an endeavor focused on enhancing primary school education and facilities in rural Morocco, recently went on a follow up visit to schools that participated in High Atlas Foundation’s tree planting day on January 16th 2014. During the event HAF reached a milestone of planting 1