By Elle Houby, HAF Development member October 27, 2015 Last week, on the evening of October 22, 2015, around one hundred guests gathered at Villa America, the U.S. Ambassador Dwight L. Bush’s residence in Rabat to celebrate a milestone for the High Atlas Foundation. In 2000, former Peace Corps volunteers founded the HAF with a vision

By Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir October 28, 2015 HAF president Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir expresses his gratitude for last week’s event hosted by the United States Ambassador to the Kingom of Morocco, Mr. Dwight Bush, in his Rabat home, Villa America, where a reception was held to celebrate the human development work of the High Atlas Foundation

November 13, 2015 The Ecological Footprint can be thought of as a tool for measurement and communication used to track human demand on the Earth’s natural resource flows. The Ecological Footprint, for example, – enables definition of sustainability in specific and measurable terms (which is ultimately determined by not just    environmental but also economic, social,

Pledging to Fight Poverty and Marginalization in Morocco The High Atlas Foundation has joined #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving that harnesses the collective power of individuals, communities and organizations to encourage philanthropy and to celebrate generosity worldwide. Occurring this year on December 1, #GivingTuesday is held annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving (in the

Are you passionate about language and interested in expanding your translation skills? HAF is currently looking for a professional or non-professional translator to translate Spanish documents into French and Arabic. Your task will mainly consist of providing translation for walnut processing machine manuals. Please note that this involves rather technical terms. Our volunteers are vital

By Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir, HAF president November 30, 2015 I wonder if we can measure, using a scientific, quantitative methodology, whether, in fact, giving is actually getting. The overwhelming evidence in my life, based on my experiences, based on so many voices I’ve heard, based on ancient and contemporary writing, within poetry, as part of

HAF project manager November 27, 2015 The streets of Figuig are quiet and empty. Dusty rose-colored walls stand as dividing sentinels along the roadways of this eastern Moroccan date oasis, empty during this midweek afternoon. There are few roads to Figuig, and they are lonely at this time of year, save for CTM local transport

By Ida Sophie Winter, HAF project manager December 9, 2015 The High Atlas Foundation trains government and civil sector employees in participatory development The High Atlas Foundation, in partnership with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Republic of Cameroon and United Nations Development Programme, trained Cameroonian government and civil sector employees in facilitating participatory community development

By Pommelien da Silva Cosme, HAF intern December 11, 2015 Last week, I was thrilled to attend a compost workshop in Ourika Valley, just 45 minutes out of Marrakech. Eager to learn more about the process and the benefits of composting, I joined some 30 women to learn more about the basic guidelines on how

By Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir, HAF president December 16, 2015 We learn as we live. The High Atlas Foundation has been planting seeds in community-managed nurseries since its birth in 2000. Only this year have we come to learn this simple fact: the people’s seeds are equity, and financial institutions grant and loan to the people’s

By Liam Stewart, HAF intern 28 December, 2015 Working alongside the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) has been an amazing experience. In the past three months I have had the opportunity to contribute to the vital sustainable development work being carried out by the organisation, develop my own personal skills and explore different regions of the

By Lillian Thomson January 2016 Since the first group of Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) arrived in Morocco in 1963, over 5,000 Americans have served in the Peace Corps’ partnership with Morocco to develop resilient communities through education and similar voluntary initiatives. In 2010 I was sent to work with Yossef Ben-Meir, president of the High

January 21st, 2016 Monday, January 25th, 2016 – Akrich, rural commune of Tamesloht, Al Haouz province (25 km south of Marrakesh): At what has become an annual, intercultural celebration of the new planting season, a further milestone in the calendar of the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) is set to take place. The event will be

By Lisa Maria Wiese, HAF intern 15 January, 2016 The almond is a precious fruit that can be enjoyed on its own, in a cake, and even for luxurious crèmes. The production of the very tasty and equally healthy fruit of the almond tree requires many steps, but the reward is well worth it in

Communiqué de presse 27 janvier 2016 POUR DIFFUSION IMMEDIATE Morocco: Soutenir le développement économique d’une manière enrichissante pour tous : la Maison de Vie, une initiative interculturelle d’agriculture bio de la Fondation du Haut Atlas et de l’engagement à l’action de la Clinton Clinton Global Initiative. Monday, January 25th, 2016 – Akrich, rural commune of Tamesloht,

Mouhssine Tadlaoui-Cherki 1 February, 2016  The High Atlas Foundation (HAF) team is currently in the process of wrapping up its Legal Aid Program, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and held in partnership with the Faculty of Law, Economics and Social Sciences in Mohammedia. The program concentrated on providing legal services for civil society organizations

By Lisa Maria Wiese, Social Media Intern February 9, 2016 On February 8th, I had the great joy of accompanying the HAF team and HAF’s president Yossef Ben-Meir to the rural province of Rhamna. There, I attended my first tree distribution which took place at Bouchane schools in the area. The first school I visited

By Luigi Limone February 23, 2016 On February 22nd, I had the opportunity to accompany the HAF team to the province of Chichaoua, in the region of Marrakech-Safi. We left from Marrakech at 8 a.m. to reach the Tadmamt nursery. Immersed in the majesty of the High Atlas Mountains, the nursery imparts the feeling of

On Saturday 24 May, our HAF colleagues Abderrahim and FatimaZahra came to Essaouira to train a team of local people in the participatory approaches used by HAF. This training took place in the context of a project which is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and which is a supplement to HAF’s work in

To view text in french, please click here More than 15 years ago, around the spirit of Peace Corps, the High Atlas Foundation was founded to help rural Moroccan communities in need. A dedicated group of Americans and Moroccans alike saw that there was a great space to be filled, and they worked together to create

By Lisa Wiese April 6, 2016 As you head east from Marrakech you will pass through many little villages that showcase the bright colors, vibrant culture, and wide smiles of the Moroccan people. Make sure to open your window so you can smell the fresh, cold air of the wind which comes from the mountains,

To view text in French please click here Every planting season has its own life story. We are at that time of the year when it has just concluded. This year, as every year, we gave it all the energy and resources that we could muster.  Here are the incredible results and our deepest hopes for

– Moroccan Decentralization – Challenges to Genuine Implementation, Indigenous Policy Journal, by Yossef Ben-Meir   (HAF President), 1 November 2016. The Moroccan decentralization initiative bears great promise to achieve human development goals that are truly ‘of the people’. As turmoil engulfs so much of the MENA region, the Moroccan model stands out as a potential means of empowering and

By Mark Apel, Former Peace Corps Volunteer 31/05/2016 First, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Yossef and the staff, volunteers and interns for the opportunity to join HAF’s work on bettering the lives of rural people in the Kingdom of Morocco. I valued every minute of my time assisting the organization with

Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir will be speaking at the One-to-One Forum this coming Monday on June 20th at the main branch of the New York Public Library (5.30pm, Chabad Midtown at 509 5th Avenue, 4th floor). This twelve hour forum of talks from thought leaders, ‘fireside’ conversations, and arts performances, are meant to engage youth and adults alike to

By Nina Schmitz 22/06/16 After more than three years of study I felt the desperate need to get out of the environment and way of thinking that became normalized to me. This was one of the reasons why I wanted to come to Morocco and volunteer with the High Atlas Foundation for ten weeks. I

This statement was submitted by the High Atlas Foundation which has a consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Statement There is a common denominator among successful human development projects, be they in the field of education, health, economic growth, cultural preservation or the environment, namely that the project beneficiaries themselves participated

By Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir, Mouhssine Tadlaoui-Cherki & Kati Roumani Vulnerability. A common denominator shared by many people in Morocco including students and recent, jobless graduates and youthful, former prison detainees. These two groups actually have more in common than might appear at first sight.  A significant proportion of young Moroccans who manage to make it

By Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir, HAF President If Morocco could effectively implement participatory development through decentralized administrative systems across the population, the model could then be emulated and adapted to help create pathways for the people of the Middle East and Africa to achieve the kind of future they seek. Morocco could guide the region by

The High Atlas Foundation has a unique partnership that launches an initiative to profoundly benefit Morocco’s youth and farming communities in the Ifrane province.  Ifrane’s Education Delegation (the provincial office of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training) and HAF signed an agreement that enables the lending of underutilized land near schools to be lent