By Mark Apel, Former Peace Corps Volunteer This spring, I had the privilege of volunteering in Morocco for the High Atlas Foundation (HAF), a US 501(c)(3) and Moroccan non-profit organization that focuses on disadvantaged rural and urban communities through participatory development. This small but mighty organization, based in Marrakech, was founded by former Peace Corps Volunteers

By: Emily Hamilton 29/07/2016 About thirty minutes outside of Marrakech lies a small town near the High Atlas Mountains. Ourika looks more like a cluster of small villages existing side by side, just off of the main road from Marrakech. Far down a dusty lane, past a beautiful garden growing saffron flowers, past the traditional

By:  Marwa Natsheh, HAF intern  A mere three days after my arrival at the High Atlas Foundation office in central Marrakesh, as an intern at the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) focusing on women’s empowerment, project manager Amina El Hajjami offered me the exciting opportunity of a brief field trip out of Marrakesh, which turned out

With the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP 22) to the UNFCCC right around the corner, the High Atlas Foundation is mobilizing its partnerships, networks and beneficiary community to highlight the extraordinary commitment and actions taken towards sustainable, green practices over the past 15 years. As this is a COP of action, the global climate

Please be welcome to join our allies at the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International for an exciting upcoming event in Marrakech, Morocco during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP22 climate talks. ‘Women Leading Solutions on the Frontlines of Climate Change – Morocco’, to be held Monday November 14th from 13:00 to 17:30, will be an

Women Leading Solutions on the Frontlines of Climate Change – Marrakech Join the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network on November 14, 2016 for Women Leading Solutions on the Frontlines of Climate Change, an extraordinary gathering with worldwide women leaders joined in solidarity to speak out against environmental and social injustice, draw attention to root causes of the

العربية تتبع الانجليزية As a representative of the High Atlas Foundation, I would like to sincerely thank WECAN for organizing this great event, and the women participants representing their countries in addition to the respected audience. My name is Amina ElHajjami.  I am Amazighi from the commune of Tidilli Misfeewa in High Atlas Mountains outside

 العربية تتبع الانجليزية My name is Rachida. I was born in 1977.  I am married with three kids. I spent my childhood in a beautiful rural environment: in the Village of Tnein, in Ourika’s Commune of Al Haouz province. I’ve reached High School but did not complete it. Now, I am the president of Aboghlo’s

Transitioning to a green economy compliant with ecological balances and capable of opening new opportunities for wealth creation and sustainable jobs, has become part of a major objective of the new sustainable development strategies being pursued by some countries in North Africa, especially Morocco. Environmental constraints (water stress, land degradation, overly strong energy dependence, vulnerability

مع نهاية شهر فبراير وفي الأسبوع الأخير منه أخذتنا رحلة التمكين من جديد إلى دواخل أنفسنا للغوص قليلا في خواطرنا ومناجاتها عن همومنا الدفينة ومشاعرنا الغابرة. ففي جو هادئ بمنطقة أوريكا وبنفسية قابلة للتغيير ومؤمنة بمغزى التمكين ابتدأت رحلتنا مع نساء تعاونية أبوغلو، رغبة منهن في خوض غمار التجربة نظرا لما كان لهذه الأخيرة من

By Chayma Ouled Sidi Aissa, HAF Volunteer Marrakech The role of women in our society is determining more openly the course of social change in communities. A woman plays a variety of essential roles in our society from her birth until the end of life. While women have profound, vital-to-life responsibilities, they also face greater

By: R. Maxwell Bone HAF Intern   Marrakech How does a stay at home mom from New York City with a background in marketing and publishing start a multi-national company and empower women from rural villages, many of whom are illiterate and have received no formal education? All that one needs to do to find

By Amina Eajjami Project manager with High Atlas Foundation Sustainable development fornew projects requires sustainable training for people. In this regard, the High Atlas Foundation signed a partnership agreement with JLM IAV Hassan II, in Rabat, with the objective of training the women of Aboghlou cooperative. The students educated the women in advanced agricultural technologies within the

– Promoting human rights to support development in rural Morocco, The Jerusalem Post, by Gal Kramarski (Graduate Student and HAF Intern), 10 February 2018. • French: World News, 16 February 2018. • Arabic: Sadaalahdas, 14 February 2018. Introduction There is an intrinsic link between human rights and development. Development, in many cases includes a process of securing access to rights, and their

Give to the High Atlas Foundation, Now More than Ever The future is incredible when we look at the many municipalities in Morocco where HAF-HA3 can help organic certify and sell their agricultural product globally – for their transformational benefit. Net revenue from organic sales are dividends for marginalized farming families, and fund the people’s priority projects

Training on the Relationship between Associations and Media Rabat, Morocco HAF Office Manager Fatima Zahra Laaribi and Program Director for the Al Haouz and Taroudant provinces Amina Al Hajjami attended a training workshop in Rabat organized by Search for Common Ground (SFCG) on the relationship between Associations and Media along with eight associations: (Tadamoune, En-Nakhil, Amal, Women’s

– The Next Step for Cooperatives Is Certification, The McGill International Review, by Amy Zhang (Undergraduate student and HAF Intern), 12 July 2018. • Arabic: Al-Watan Voice, 13 July 2018. By Amy Zhang Marrakech This week we celebrate the United Nations International Day of Cooperatives, commemorated every year on the first Saturday of July. Cooperatives’ success in sustainable development,

On May 2nd, HAF friends and supporters gathered in New York City for the second Eat.Drink.Share event, which focused on women’s cooperatives in rural Morocco. Attendees had an opportunity to learn more about HAF’s current project in the Tifnoute Valley that will serve ten villages, with the main objective to increase household incomes by 25 percent through fruit tree planting,