By Elle Houby
\n16 February 2016<\/p>\n
A mere forty-five minute drive from the rhythmic commotion that is Marrakesh, Morocco\u2019s southern metropolis, sits the lush nursery of Tadmamt. As spring edges closer, the intricately terraced fields make for a refreshing change of scenery after the vibrant urban scene. Yet, enveloped in the lofty peaks of the High Atlas region and tucked away at the end of a winding dirt road, the nursery itself is a place few stumble upon by chance.<\/p>\n
The nursery, rich in a history of walnut production, welcomed an exceptional number of visitors for a tree distribution ceremony in early February. The air was thick with excitement as 28 men from surrounding communes admired around 14,860 walnut saplings, representing great potential for the enthusiastic recipients and the associations and municipalities they represent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a wonderful saying in Morocco: \u2018they plant and we eat, we plant and they eat\u2019\u201d, Abdeljalil Ait Ali, a member of an Oukaimeden association, explained when asked about the significance of each sapling. \u201cThe distribution of these walnut trees is of great benefit, not only for our association but also for our families, including our children and grandchildren. The reward they bring will be shared in a generous and inclusive manner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Global prices and demand for walnuts is continuing to grow\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0consumers in the US and Europe seek ever greater amounts of organic product<\/a>. The fact that walnuts are a hot commodity is one that nursery caretaker Omar Outazgui knows well. As he bundles, counts and distributes the saplings, his energetic hands testify to the expertise of many years. \u201cI began working with plants when I was twelve years old; since then I have tended many different types of trees, such as almond, olive, pomegranate, and, of course, walnut,\u201d Omar explains.<\/p>\n High altitude regions such as Tadmamt provide an ideal environment for walnut trees to thrive. \u00a0Just as saplings are starting to be distributed to local farmers and associations, fresh land is being turned and new seeds planted, almond being among them. These and other changes are being introduced as the nursery at Tadmamt, owned and managed by Morocco\u2019s High Commission for Water and Forests which, since 2008, has joined in partnership with the High Atlas Foundation (HAF), a Moroccan-U.S. non-governmental organization, enabling HAF to establish organic fruit tree nurseries on such land. When the saplings mature they are distributed to surrounding communities, free of charge as part of the HAF\u2019s\u00a0One Billion Tree Campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Al Haouz province there are currently 300,000 walnut trees, amounting to 34% of Morocco\u2019s walnut production. In the past week alone, we distributed around 28,400 trees at Tadmamt and Imegdale – that\u2019s approaching 10% of the entire amount of walnut trees in the whole province!\u201d HAF President Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir enthuses. \u201cNumerous and diverse civil, public, communal and cooperative\u00a0entities<\/a>\u00a0become partners in the campaign, each playing an essential role. The essential catalyst is the Department of Waters and Forests and the fight against desertification, who have giventhe land for the nursery.\u201d<\/p>\n In the particular case of Tadmamt, the partnership was a four-way one together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and YSL Beaut\u00e9, whose support goes toward training members of the Aboghlo Women\u2019s Cooperative in nursery maintenance. HAF partnerships, in sum, form a mosaic of national and international cooperation, working together to benefit those affected by rural poverty throughout Morocco.<\/p>\n Concludes Ben-Meir \u201cwere each of the 700 hundred parcels of land managed by the High Commission for Water and Forests in Morocco put to maximum use for organic fruit tree agriculture, this would\u00a0generate between 80 and 100 million plants each year<\/a>. Our pilot project together constitutes a real breakthrough.\u201d In the words of Mohammed Issoual, the Marrakesh Regional Director of Water and Forests of the High Atlas region, this partnership and the resulting project represents the essence of Morocco\u2019s forestry strategy. \u201cThe distribution of fruit trees in Tadmamt is a vital action for the empowerment of communities and their capacity to protect the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n The strategic vision of the High Commission for Waters and Forests and Desertification Control in this area has a perspective of integrated governance, natural resources, and takes into account the characteristics of each region. What follows is a participatory approach mobilizing and institutionalizing partnerships between different stakeholders including the local population and NGOs. This makes the local population a development actor that raises its own projects, boosts local socioeconomic wheel, creates wealth, and values all products without compromising the sustainability of the forest.<\/p>\n