By Ulrica Muffatto
HAF summer intern

On the 10th of August we took part in an interesting meeting in Setti Fadma, province of Al Haouz. Representatives of the surrounding villages were present at the meeting, as well as local authorities and the mayor of Setti Fadma.

The objective of the meeting was to present HAF’s future plans for the area and get the approval from the local communities to launch the program. As a matter of fact the foundation has been working in the area for several years now, towards a sustainable development. Still now HAF is keeping track of the carbon offset of 20 thousand trees, planted through the noteworthy partnership with Project PUR.

The main issue that emerged from the meeting was connected to water, as there are problems with irrigation, droughts and floods. Many pointed out that this issue has to be solved before planting any more trees. The representative of the agricultural association believes that the farmers should be able to join cooperatives, in order to facilitate the access to some resources and be able to easily oversee the progress of the projects. He also recommended to switch to dripping irrigation, as the Moroccan government can finance 90% of its costs. Some agricultural offices are even willing to offer their expertise and HAF will offer a training program for the villages where the trees will be planted. This program is a software that can be used by any smartphone, which will show to the farmers the precise involved areas.

Another important point for HAF is to stimulate people’s involvement with the surrounding nature, as they could learn how to benefit from it, but also to make them more aware of the environment and of the sustainable development.

For more information about the PUR Project check out our blog post about it: https://highatlasfoundation.org/blogs/812-women-and-participatory-approach-to-achieve-a-professional-work