Megan Williams HAF-IVA Intern According to the World Health Organization, in 2017, 5.3 billion people used safely managed drinking-water services located on premises, available when needed, and free from contamination1. However, this leaves approximately 2.2 billion people without such access, with around 1.4 billion people with basic services (an improved water source within a 30-minute

Megan Sprotte 3/3/21 The terms ‘development’ and ‘human rights’ have become of frequent use in our current society, and one might even regard them as ‘buzzwords.’ While the vast attention given to each of these terms has been a fairly recent phenomenon, the use of them in communion is an even newer occurrence. Given the

Bezawit Mesfin Bogale HAF-UVA Intern  Trees play a vital role in preserving the environment for generations. The environment is key for survival in terms of not only health but also association with one another in our community. It is known that trees give off oxygen, reduce the amount of stormwater, provide natural habitat, and contribute

Carlie Daniel HAF-UVA Intern The Aziza Date is a rare type of date that contains a lower sugar content than other dates and can be preserved for up to two years before spoiling. Its long shelf life and nutritional value make it a valuable fruit that has the potential to be very beneficial to farmers

Carlie Daniel HAF-UVA Intern Development. When many people hear this word, they think of infrastructure and improved education but do not necessarily think about the challenges and processes that convert a place to a developed area. Participatory methods have been shown to have many benefits and positive outcomes as a method of development including helping

Sustainable Agricultural Villages As a Panacea to Poverty, By Olufunmilayo Aiyegbusi, moroccoworldnews. By Olufunmilayo Aiyegbusi Volunteer, High Atlas Foundation Nigeria As a nursing mother some years ago, I would have given anything to have had a small business. Working in a highly structured law firm and handling several sensitive case files clashed significantly with that

Shivani Lakshman HAF-UVA Intern The Moroccan government recently laid out a new forestry strategy intended to meet five major goals: sustain natural resources in forests and National Parks, engage local users in forest management, promote rural development, strengthen forests’ productive potential, and preserve biodiversity (Ministre de l’Agriculture). By 2030, Morocco aims to restore 133,000 hectares

Karam-Yane Azzabi HAF Program Coordinator It was with great enthusiasm that we – Karam-Yane Azzabi and Mohamed El Kadiri – travelled to Ouezzane on March 12th, in order to distribute trees to schools in the area.  As soon as we arrived, we were received by the Provincial Director of the Ministry of National Education. Our

October 2020 – Program partners, Ecosia and USAID’s Farmer-to-Farmer, visit the solar-powered irrigation system at a HAF tree nursery in Ouarzazate province. Photo by Project Assistant, Hassan Ait Ouatouch.  In a country well known for its expansive desert and dry heat, solar-powered irrigation systems are achieving the impossible by consistently supplying clean water to six

Recent trends reveal that pastoralists in the Maghreb region are turning to sedentary farming practices like agroforestry as nomadic herding becomes more difficult. This unpublished article investigates the causes for this shift, associated environmental impacts, and local responses. Volunteers plant carob and olive tree saplings as part of a community project with HAF in the

Ian MacPherson HAF UVa Student Intern Nov 5, 2018—  High Atlas Foundation facilitates a women’s IMAGINE workshop adapted for Moroccan cultural and religious practices. Deep relationships maintained over time and a global scope at a local scale characterize the participatory approach to development. Methods grouped under the umbrella of participation vary widely, and are formed

By Zineb Laadam Farmer-to-Farmer, Morocco Despite weakening bodies, with grey hair and clenched faces, these people are still closely committed to their work with all dedication and sincerity. Time has not weakened their spirits. Heaven did not bury them but rather made them warriors in the field. They love nature, and it loves them back.

By Zineb Laadam Farmer-to-Farmer, Morocco The High Atlas Foundation celebrates women’s achievements at the Aboghlo cooperative. In the darkness of every night, she raises her head to the sky, looks with her eyes at the stars, holds the shield of a soldier in her hands, and does not know what to do with it. Does

Sanae Benaadim HAF Office Manager and Volunteer Coordinator. Water is one of the most important resource management aspects that integrates the notion of sustainability in Morocco.The High Atlas Foundation is focused on spreading and strengthening sustainable development in Moroccan communities through several big and small projects.There are nexus cycles between three main elements/keys of life,

Kaoutar Ait Lahaj Program Coordinator The participants of the International Women’s Day Webinar. On the 8th of March, the US Embassy of Israel hosted a webinar entitled “International Women’s Day: The Middle East & The Abraham Accords” in partnership with the UAE Embassy in Washington, DC, The Embassy of Bahrain, and the Embassy of Morocco.

This International Women’s Day, the High Atlas Foundation team celebrates all women, women leaders, women who are working to create a more equal future in spite of this current context in which we live -- a context in which deep-seated gender inequalities have exacerbated the consequences of the pandemic for women and girls around the

Zineb Laadam HAF Farmer to Farmer Field Officer The women of the Ghmat Division Cooperative have started producing honey thanks to our partnership with USAID’s Farmer-to-Farmer program. January 7, 2021 – “Success stories,” a short phrase but with great meanings. This phrase was said by Errachid Montassir (Project Manager at the High Atlas Foundation) before

Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir Marrakech Participatory community movements found a contemporary impetus in post-World War II reconstruction of Europe and decolonization, primarily in Africa. The approach of locally managed change, however, was highly distrusted during these initial years, during which the dominant view was that central-level policy makers are in a better position than the people

Elizabeth Jay Program Manager | Digital Strategist  Martin Luther King Day falls in the middle of the High Atlas Foundation’s tree-planting season, the most fertile time of year in Morocco. January 18, 2020 – On Martin Luther King Jr. Day that inspires volunteerism, the High Atlas Foundation celebrates its Tree Planting day. Annually, the Foundation

– تمكين المرأة: زراعة البذور ورحلة اكتشاف الذات في المغرب, Deyar Al Naqab. Caption: The participants doing “twinkles” (in lieu of applause) in Achbaro for Lalla Nezha after presenting her affirmation.  Women’s empowerment is a key to having a successful and bright future for Morocco. The IMAGINE Program’s main objective is to help women discover

Manon Burbidge Lund University, Sweden Marrakech On the morning of 6th December 2018, I got the chance to attend a panel at the 11th Global Forum for Migration and Development (GFMD), this year hosted in Marrakech, Morocco.  The core theme was focussed on “Honouring International Commitments to Unlock Potential of All Migrants for Development” and was the largest

by Nisreen Abo-Sido, HAF volunteer, Thomas J. Watson Fellow Over the weekend, part of the HAF team visited a primary school in Rhamna to check in with community leaders, distribute 140 fruit trees, and join in the excitement of playing and planting with energetic children and volunteers.  Activity organizers welcomed us with warm bread and

The beauty of Morocco exists not only in the big cities but also in the charming villages of the countryside. Many villages and residential communities are scattered along the Atlas Mountain range, from the south-west of the country to the far east, and the activities vary from one region to the other. Nevertheless, they share

إحتضن فندق قصبة أنغور بتحناوت – مراكش- في الفترة الممتدة من 14 الى 18 نوفمبر 2018م مؤتمر استطلاع الخبرات والتجارب بعنوان: مؤسسة الأطلس الكبير نموذج للمقاربة التشاركية من أجل الزراعة المستدامة: إنجازات وتحديات لتلبية أهداف طويلة الأمد على المستويات المجتمعية والإقليمية، وكان المؤتمر برعاية مركز هولينغز للحوار الدولي وبرنامج الأمير محمد بن فهد للأبحاث والدراسات

by Nisreen Abo-Sido, HAF Volunteer, Thomas J. Watson Fellow On my first site visit as the newest member of the HAF team, I joined Errachid—our project manager and volunteer coordinator—on a visit to El Youssoufia to attend a regional OCP Company meeting. Formerly known as Office chérifien des phosphates, OCP holds economic importance in Morocco

The planting season, which starts Morocco in December and concludes in March, is like no other time of year. It offers a window for sowing the best of benefits this world could offer–sustenance, livelihoods, flourishing nature, and justice, for now and for generations. This precious time opens its door in just six weeks, and for

 سعيد بناني  مدير مشروع بمؤسسة الأطلس الكبير مشتل للأشجار المثمرة في مركز عبد العزيز بن ادريس لحماية الطفولة بفاس “نموذجا” حسب وزارة الشباب والرياضة، فمراكز حماية الطفولة هي تلك الفضاءات التابعة لوزارة الشباب والرياضة تتولى مهمة إعادة تربية الاحداث الجانحين المحالين عليها من طرف السلطات القضائية طبقا لمقتضيات قانون المسطرة الجنائية، وتعمل على تقديم خدماتها

By Amina El Hajjami (HAF’s Director of Projects), Hana Ezaoui (HAF’s Project Manager in Boujdour), and Indrianty Lihardinata (HAF Intern from Pepperdine University)   The High Atlas Foundation (HAF) and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) have been partnering since July 2018 to promote an environmental campaign and to provide clean drinking water for nomadic communities

  By Errachid Montassir HAF Project manager   According to UNESCO, there are 10 million people who are illiterate and 1,137,546 youth who have not received a primary or secondary education. In Morocco, nearly 20,186 girls did not attend school in 2014, in contrast to 17,183 boys that same year. Female youth are often deprived

The Moroccan national station “Radio Plus” interviewed Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir, President of High Atlas Foundation (HAF), and talked about the participatory approach to implementing development projects with communities in Morocco. He focused on participation’s intrinsic link to sustainable development, and HAF’s vision in building agricultural projects throughout the Kingdom. Errachid Montassir, HAF Sami’s Project Manager, spoke about the