By Errachid Montassir

HAF Project Manager

Every year, the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) celebrates its National Tree Planting Day on the third Monday of January, which coincides with Martin Luther King Day, by planting trees with farmers, women, and youth across various Moroccan regions.  This year, the event came on the 21st of January, a day when the HAF team spreads out regionally to expand the greenery of Morocco and help in securing the income for rural communities.
During one of many expeditions that occurred on that day, HAF team members Errachid Montassir, Nisreen Abo-Sido, Sofia Davila, and Aissam Oukerroum were joined by representatives from our partners at Sapling: Ivo, Edward, Louis, and Edmund.  On this beautiful morning, we started the event by visiting a Children’s Protection Center in Marrakech, bringing 95 almond trees with us. First, we went to the girl’s ward and met the director, Ms. Jihad Aljamli, who was happy to work with HAF for the first time, as she is interested in bringing environmental initiatives to the Center.

Everyone was so happy as we discussed our relationship with the environment and planted almond trees together.  Next, we walked over to the boy’s ward, where the kids were so excited to participate in the tree planting, and their efforts were reflected in their diligence in planting the almond trees and their beautiful smiles!
The enthusiasm from the morning’s tree planting in Marrakech energized us on our way to Essaouira, where we were bringing 49 argan trees to plant with the Mougador Argan women’s cooperative, which was founded in 2007 by three sisters from Essaouira–Hassna, Kabira, and Khadija.  Now the cooperative has grown to 30 women members from different regions of Essaouira province. The women welcomed us warmly, and we ate lunch together, before we left the shop to go to the field where we had a good time planting argan trees with the women and farmers.

The HAF annual tree planting event contributes to promoting economic, social, and environmental development across Moroccan regions, by celebrating environmental stewardship and planting trees with communities.
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