By: Youssef Tahiri, Project Manager

Exercise in identifying needs by dividing the attendees into groups. Photo: HAF

On July 5, 2022, the project team of the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) visited the village of Tiferki, in the commune of Adar, Taroudant province, in continuation of a number of workshops planned by the HAF with the population, starting with the self-empowerment workshop with women. The local community benefited during the whole day from a variety of workshops related to environmental education, the creation of cooperative and participatory planning.

There, 35 women and 17 men representatives of the Igmir association attended. Errachid Mountasir, HAF Country Manager for the Farmer-to-Farmer program, facilitated the interactive workshop. At the beginning, it was pointed out to some that the HAF team fosters successful experiences by trying to build trust and motivation among the participants and open a line of good communication.

The Tiferki community identified six priorities during community mapping and needs identification exercises: opening a bakery, paving alleyways, building a hammam (communal bathhouse), establishing a cooperative, and creating a kindergarten.

In fact, the priority of establishing a women’s cooperative was more important than other priorities. The women took the opportunity to learn all the organizational and legal matters to do so. Their idea was to create an economic resource by cooking traditional bread and selling it in shops and weekly markets.

There is also the desire the community as a whole has for creating a legal association. Its sole concern would be the good management of their land, on which 14,000 carob and Argan trees will be planted by HAF in partnership with the UN Development Programme in the next few months. There, a well has been dug and a solar energy system provided.