Written by Fatima Zahra Laaribi Financial Manager | Lead Empowerment Trainer To maintain a successful scaling strategy for empowering Moroccan women on a national level, HAF invests in its staff to build their capacities and to expand the organization’s number of facilitators. After the completion of her “observation phase” as an empowerment facilitator apprentice, HAF’s

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

Fatima Zahra LAHRIRE HAF Volunteer Today is the third day of the training. We can associate not only the faces with the names but also the faces with the voices. We develop the habit of meeting them first thing in the morning before the workshop and the last thing before we sleep. We had our

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

Fatima Zahra LAHRIRE HAF Volunteer We are now in the Tifnoute Valley of the High Atlas Mountains after a long journey. It was a cold morning, and the snowy mountains reminded of the stormy night of yesterday. It was a crisp and cloudy but the radiant smile upon the faces of the people who came

Houria Chouhab HAF Volunteer On Women’s International Day, the High Atlas Foundation visited the Association Assalam for Development in Douar Achbarou. This village is located in the Rural Commune of Tameslouht, which is only 20 kms away from Marrakech. Beforehand, the activities in this association were run by men only, but since last October, women

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

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

by Fatima Zahra Laaribi Women’s Empowerment Lead Trainer High Atlas Foundation From February 2016 to the present, 467 women participated in the four-day empowerment workshop conducted by High Atlas Foundation. HAF has achieved this in partnership with the Empowerment Institute, Middle East Partnership Initiative, National Endowment for Democracy, Intrepid Foundation, FRE Skincare and other groups

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

Case study of the Aboghlou Womens Coopertaive, Ourika It is a sunny Thursday afternoon as Amina El Hajjami, Projects Director at the High Atlas Foundation (HAF), and I drive out of Marrakech towards Ourika in Al Haouz Province, just one hour away. We are visiting the Aboghlou Women’s Cooperative in a small shopfront where 32

By Eliana Lisuzzo HAF Project Assistant The High Atlas Foundation (HAF)—headed by a distinguished Board of Directors, Advisory Board, and operational team of both Moroccans and Americans—is a U.S. and Moroccan 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that was created by former Peace Corps Volunteers in 2000. HAF facilitates and builds people’s capacities in participatory democratic approaches to

  The High Atlas Foundation (HAF) has worked in the Oujda Region for three years. HAF’s Marrakech and Oujda teams came together in August to facilitate women’s empowerment and cooperative development workshops and are touring the region, now joined by our counterparts from The Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI). Since September 5th, we have met with cooperative members from four provinces, with two

Ibtissam Niri Office Manager Today was the last day of Imagine workshops in Oujda, but the first day to think about the journey of Empowerment in the Oriental region for 58 women of different cooperatives. From August 10st to August 17th, 2018, the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) facilitated an eight-day women’s empowerment workshop in Isly Golf

by Tal Carmel In January 2018, FRÉ’s founders and a couple ambassadors had the opportunity to plant Argan trees in Morocco. During the trip, they visited with the women who harvest the Argan seeds at the Izourane co-op in Tidzi, Essaouira. It was from this visit that FRÉ’s founders decided they wanted to do more

By Katherine O’Neil Claremont McKenna College (USA), HAF Intern On Friday, July 13, I visited the Tifaouine Women’s Cooperative in Amizmiz, Morocco with High Atlas Foundation (HAF) Coordinator Errachid Montassir and Land O’Lakes expert volunteer Lynda Drennan Swenson. The purpose of this visit was to provide a brief training seminar on marketing and financial management

– Why Education Isn’t the Only Solution: An Overview of Female Employment in Morocco and the Region, Global Research, by Katherine O’Neill (Undergraduate student and HAF Intern), 24 July 2018. • Arabic: Al-Watan Voice, 6 August 2018 The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has the lowest female employment rate of anywhere in the world. Though most countries

By Ali Ait Oubkhane July 27, 2015 This blog post details Intern Ali Ait Oubkhane’s appreciation for the opportunity to work with HAF and assist both peer students and CSOs through the legal aid program. تقييم تجربة التدريب في مؤسسة الأطلس الكبير للمتدرب علي ايت اوبخان لا اجد الكلمات لأعبر على السعادة التي كنت اشعر

By Hajar Mouhajir July 31, 2015 This blog post in Arabic details Intern Hajar Mouhajir’s work with HAF assisting peer students and CSOs through the legal aid program. تقييم تجربة التدريب في مؤسسة الأطلس الكبير للمتدربة هاجر مهاجر  تشرفت بتجربتي في مؤسسة الاطلس الكبير حيث كانت تجربة شيقة مليئة بالاحماس والرغبة في مساعدة الاخرين مما

By Meryem Talhy and Dounia Jamal Eddine July 31, 2015 This blog post in Arabic details Mohammedia Interns Meryem Talhy and Dounia Jamal Eddine’s appreciation for the opportunity to intern with HAF and assist both their peer students and CSOs through the legal aid program. تقييم تجربة التدريب في مؤسسة الأطلس الكبير للمتدربة مريم طالحي

– Lending Land to Enhance Life, Scoop News, by Kati Roumani (HAF Moroccan Decentralization: Step by Step, Jerusalem Post, by Yossef Ben-Meir (HAF President), 6 August 2015. HOUSE OF LIFE is an innovative agricultural initiative whose implications are broad and resonate acutely with current world events; set in the specific context of Moroccan human development needs and cultural history, the

By Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir, HAF president September 28, 2015 Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir explains the importance of a collaborative, sustainable approach to human development, which enables communities, assisted by trained facilitators, to plan their own projects. Socrates, I imagine, might well have found himself at home at a modern-day community meeting, during which local people discuss the

November 24, 2015 By Hannah Urtz The success of a non-profit depends largely upon its key players—their commitment and dedication to the work that they do and their passion for bringing about change. The High Atlas Foundation is no different, relying heavily upon the investment of their stakeholders at all levels, including their office and

By Pommelien da Silva Cosme, HAF intern December 3, 2015 HAF intern Pommelien joined HAF project manager Amina in a visit to a group of women in Ourika, where she learned more about the participatory approach and spoke with some of the women. Last week I joined HAF project manager Amina to meet a group

– A Legacy of Peace Corps Service, Friends of Morocco, Friends of Morocco News, by Lillian Thompson (HAF-Peace Corps Response Volunteer),   February 2016. I’d like to share with you a story about the origins of the High Atlas Foundation, and my experience with it as a Peace Corps Response Volunteer. The High Atlas Foundation resulted from its founder,

– What is the Value of a Woman?, ZNET, by Emma Tobin (HAF Intern), 30 March 2016. As a woman, I fight everyday to be respected and treated as an equal. I was lucky enough to be born into a middle class American family with parents who encouraged my education and growth. In my house I

By Jacqueline Seeley March 29, 2016 Normally, sowing seeds is something we do in the soil outside, but now the High Atlas Foundation is also sowing seeds within people! How is that possible, you may ask? Well, in partnership with the Empowerment Institute, two of HAF’s staff have been trained as IMAGINE Empowerment Workshop Facilitators, enabling them to

The elevator pitch: the shortest-seeming thirty-to-sixty-second-ride ever! When mastered, it becomes the quintessential vehicle for sharing a dream, collaboration and investment. This technique was employed over two days, March 23-24 in Rabat, during which HAF team members Safae Lacheheb (Volunteer) and Jacqueline Seeley (Director of Development) worked with a group of Moroccan entrepreneurs to build

By Ramzi Talbi 24/05/2016 Our trip to Ighil with High Atlas Foundation took us into deep Morocco. Ighil is small town in the Al Houz province of Marrakech, the population of which is mainly Berbers. The Berber communities are known for their strong connection to the land and its natural resources. Wool work is one

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