By Amine Fattas HAF Volunteer The rendezvous point was the HAF office. I came early and got to meet the whole team. There were two groups: UVA Students who are in Morocco on a research program and with whom I shared a bus, and the Envoys, high schoolers who were on a school trip. As

HAF Intern On a hot sunny day of May 30, 2019, the group accompanied by Errachid Montassir and Amina El Hajjami, left HAF Office in Marrakech by 9 o’clock in the morning, towards the Amazigh village of Akrich. The drive took about 30 min to get to the village. The first site visited was the

Peter Wu, HAF Volunteer Essaouira may stand as a great example to the world for how religious diversity should prevail: Jewish, Muslim, and Christian communities have historically co-existed in Essaouira peacefully. While other regions of the world are endlessly fighting over religious matters, it is both interesting and delightful to observe how the Essaouira people

CHOUHAB Houria HAF Volunteer On the 22nd of May in a commune called Ounagha 25km away from Marrakech MOGADOR Cooperative, a women’s cooperative of Argan products and Amlou, had a meeting with The High Atlas Foundation’s team and the ambassadors of FRÉ Skin Care. Both FRÉ and HAF execute activities within this cooperative, benefitting the

ABOUT TWENTY-FOUR HOURS AGO, I planted a tree. It was already taller than the other tree sprouts lined up next to it, looking like the leader of a small pack of children, still a child itself. I bent down and carefully grabbed it, brought it back to the freshly dug square hole in the ground,

by Nisreen Abo-Sido HAF Volunteer, Thomas J. Watson Fellow In Morocco, just 26% of girls–in contrast to 79% of boys–residing in rural areas are enrolled in primary school.  Furthermore, rates of school dropout–particularly between primary and secondary school–are 15% higher for rural girls than for boys, and three times higher for rural girls compared to

By Elouahsoussi Rachid HAF intern On Wednesday the 14th of May, members of the High Atlas Foundation’s team visited Tassa Ouirgane to conduct a women’s empowerment meeting and pay a visit to the foundation’s nursery there. The team consisted of Amina El Hajjami, HAF’s Director of Projects, and Hassan Ait Ouatouch, HAF’s Project Assistant, as

By Houria Chouhab HAF Volunteer On the 10th of May, Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir, HAF’s President, and the HAF team visited two villages in the High Atlas mountains not far from the Red City: Talaint and Anamer, which are two villages of the Setti Fatma Commune. HAF’s team had the pleasure to be accompanied by Aysha

Clarisse ESPIL Intern at the HAF On Monday, the 29th of April, the HAF was invited to the “Economy and Competitiveness of the Mediterranean” forum as part of the Summit of the Two Rivers. This forum was organised by the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (EESC). The challenges concerned economic development but also competitiveness in

By Elouahsoussi Rachid HAF Volunteer On the 9th of April, the High Atlas Foundation team visited the Village of Tassa Ouirgane (in the Al Haouz province) in order to conduct environmental activities with women and children. Girls and women, who are planning their own cooperative for medicinal plants and local natural products, are highly motivated

French version Dear Friends, My name is Martine Roberts and I am the newest member of the Board of the High Atlas Foundation (HAF). I am writing to you from Marrakech, Morocco, where I have spent the last month immersing myself in HAF’s mission and current initiatives. As a Moroccan-American woman, I am honored and

Clarisse ESPIL                                                                                                                                                                                stagiaire à « High atlas Foundation » Ce mardi 9 avril 2019, la HAF s’est rendue à Tassa Ouirgane, une commune qui se situe dans les montagnes de l’Atlas à 90 kilomètres de Marrakech afin d’y réaliser une activité sous le thème de l’environnement.  Le but de cette visite en partenariat avec le Programme

Par Peter J. Jacques La vie et la mort de communautés entières dépendent de la réalisation des 17 objectifs de développement durable (les ODD) adoptés à l’unanimité par les Nations Unies en 2015, dont l’éradication de la pauvreté, la conservation des forêts et la lutte contre le changement climatique. Prenons, à titre d’exemple, le peuple autochtone

Fatima Zahra LAHRIRE HAF Volunteer We started our day with a traditional breakfast prepared by the family hosting us. We could hear the voices of the girls coming from early morning to participate in the workshop. They have power and it is quite profound. A power that allowed them to survive all the difficulties the

Youssef Moussaoui HAF Volunteer On Thursday, the 28th of March, the team of the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) visited with HAF Board Member Martine Roberts the nurseries of Akrich, Imegdal, and Tadmamt. Our first stop was the Akrich nursery where HAF planted over 30,000 almond and fig seeds. Talking about the ways to preserve and

By Yossef Ben-Meir HAF President The High Atlas Foundation had the great pleasure to welcome former Fulbright Scholars from the United States to its office in Marrakech. It was a great feeling to be together, people with the shared commitment to utilize opportunities for research and education to measurably move forward the people’s development.  Our

By Houria CHOUHAB HAF Volunteer One of the good feelings is walking into a place for the first time and having flashbacks to childhood memories, and this is exactly what happened during my visit to the MOGADOR Cooperative. The Cooperative is in the center of Ounagha, 25 km from Essaouira, and it is surrounded by

By Houria Chouhab HAF Volunteer Hey! My name is Houria and I am a masters degree student at the Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences in Marrakech. At the end of the third semester (the end of January), I had to apply for an internship that will be the base of my graduate research. I

by J Rojas Meyer One of the High Atlas Foundation’s general objectives in Morocco is to find novel ways to bridge a critical gap so that farmers and others, can afford to make a vital transition to planting and harvesting fruit trees. Depending of the type of trees and variation in local conditions however, the

Today on March 8 is International Women’s Day! This day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. International Women’s Day (IWD) has occurred for well over a century, with the first​ ​IWD gathering in 1911 supported

– Civil Society Matters to the Sustainable Development Goals, Global Research, by Peter Jacques (Visiting Expert), 8 February 2019. •  Arabic: Al-Watan Voice, 16 February 2019.Life and death for whole communities hang in the balance of achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that include eliminating poverty, conserving forests, and addressing climate change, passed by the United Nations unanimously

Moussa Sidibé Bénévole FHA, 15 Février 2019 Une nouvelle journée, une nouvelle destination qui cette fois-ci se trouve être la province si hospitalière et chaleureuse d’Essaouira loin de la ville rouge de Marrakech. Une bonne partie des membres du staff de l’ONG High Atlas Foundation et moi y compris se sont alors rendus sur les

Youssef Moussaoui HAF Volunteer New adventure.  New excitement.  After an amazing day in Skoura M’daz, part of the HAF team continues the five-day tree planting campaign. We met farmers from Azrou, in the Amghas commune. Abdelilah accompanied us; he is the caretaker of the HAF Ifrane nursery which is located at the Salaam School. We

Youssef Moussaoui HAF Volunteer The High Atlas Foundation held a tree planting day in AL – Salaam School, where the nursery is located in Ifrane. Abdelilah, the nursery caretaker, led the process. There were 64 participants. Sixty were elementary school children aged between 10 and 12 (30 children were in the fifth grade, and 30

by Fatima Zahra LAHRIRE HAF Volunteer Early morning on Tuesday, February 19th, we went to Tassa Ouirgane passing by the magnificent view of snowy mountain peaks, wildflowers, and small hills. At a distance of approximately 70 kilometers from the ochre city, Marrakech, the Tassa Ouirgane village stands in its beautiful Azzaden valley. The day started

Work-study students, interns, and volunteers of the High Atlas Foundation have opportunities to analyze development as it is experienced in rural and urban communities, by farmers, women, youth, and people of all backgrounds.  We also give the students and volunteers the encouragement and support that they need in order to write their observations, improve upon their writing,

By Youssef Moussaoui HAF Volunteer I have been volunteering for the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) for nearly a month now. Every day is a new experience, and the excitement never seems to end. This time, HAF planned a five-day tree-planting campaign in Fes, Sefrou, Azrou, and Meknes. Project manager Said Bennani and I travelled from

Peter Jacques, Ph.D., Professor UCF Political Science Department The Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Program for Strategic Research & Studies (PMBF) has matched funds awarded to UCF Political Science Professor Peter Jacques to conduct a research project looking at sustainable development, water, and food security in Morocco. Jacques, who is partnering with the Marrakesh-based High Atlas

by Celina Böhmer HAF intern The weather is getting warmer here in Morocco. The sun is shining the whole day and providing us warmth. Yesterday, HAF project director Amina El Hajjami and I went to visit the Aboghlou Cooperative in Ourika. HAF began working with the women in 2015/16, using a participatory approach and training

Errachid Montassir HAF project manager A partnership agreement brought together The High Atlas Foundation (HAF) which works to establish participatory development projects for the Moroccan communities, and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE), the world’s second largest wind turbine manufacturer and provides onshore and offshore wind services. Both are dedicated to working with the communities and