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Haf’s Errachid Montassir Wins the Amwaj Water and Energy Mediathon Award
Errachid Montassir at the United Nations Headquarters in New York during the Climate Action Summit, September 2019. Errachid Montassir, High Atlas Foundation (HAF) Project Manager and Volunteer Coordinator for the USAID Farmer-to-Farmer Program, won the Water and Energy Award at the Mediathon organized by AMWAJ, CEWAS and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. Water and Energy ‘Mediathon’, a capacity-building event, […]
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How Skin Care Tackles Climate Change
A wrinkled tree Analogy To care for the people or for your own wellbeing is by no means a contradiction to protecting the environment. While conventional agriculture ensures efficient food production, it still risks the health of many billion people by polluting ground waters, emitting CO2 and further reducing overall biodiversity. But strikingly, the dichotomy […]
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Haf Partnerships Essential to Sustainable Tree Planting
The High Atlas Foundation relies on its partners for successful sustainable development projects. Public and private, local, national, and international – the agencies, companies, universities, groups, and individuals who support HAF make possible the fulfillment of its mission. By Yossef Ben-Meir The High Atlas Foundation would not have survived for the past twenty years without […]
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Multiculturalisme Et Unite : Une Alchimie Dont Le Maroc a Le Secret
Multiculturalisme et Unité : une alchimie dont le Maroc a le secret, Libération, Par Yossef Ben-Meir et Kati Roumani. Arabic version HOUSE OF LIFE est une initiative agricole innovante dont les implications sont profondes et ont un écho avec l’actualité mondiale. La particularité du programme réside dans son aspect interculturel. HOUSE OF LIFE organise le prêt […]
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Climate Literacy: Educating the next Generation for an Environmental Revolution
Earthday’s Climate Literacy webinar announcement During the last week of September, the Earth Day organization held a webinar entitled “Igniting Climate Literacy: Creating a Citizenry Ready and Willing to Act Now and Build a Sustainable Economic Future” to celebrate the 50th annual Earth Day. Organizers of the event gathered notable panelists from around the world […]
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Global Handwashing Day: A Day to Celebrate Healthy Hygiene
Program Coordinator The world is currently suffering from a major pandemic, and the most effective way to control its spread is through healthy hygienic practices — regular hand-washing, the use of face masks, and social distancing. The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has made October 15 one of the most important days of celebration this year: Global […]
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Haf: 20 Years for the Fulfillment of the Moroccan People
President of the High Atlas Foundation The guiding principle of the High Atlas Foundation over its life of twenty years has remained fixed: sustainability is a function of people’s control over the development that improves their lives. Projects by and for local communities are what is sustainable. This principle has always been both our heartbeat […]
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Mobilizing Youth Toward Gender Equality in Morocco
French versions Law students plant a tree at the Faculty of Juridical, Economic, and Social Sciences in Fes, January 2020. HAF Director of Development The topic of gender in Morocco is one of considerable debate among the people, and it can often be controversial. In order to make progress toward a Morocco that values and […]
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Haf’s Fruit Tree Nurseries Vision: Fes Province
Tree Monitoring Officer Caption: HAF nurseries, Fes province: tree-planting skills build good members of society The High Atlas Foundation (HAF) uses land given in-kind by the High Commissioner of Water and Forests and the Fight Against Desertification, local associations, and cooperatives around Morocco to establish organic fruit tree nurseries which provide sustainable projects for the […]
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Planting Trees Can Reduce Poverty and Slow Climate Change
Planting trees can reduce poverty and slow climate change, The Daily Guardian, By Jacqueline Skalski-Fouts, 29 August 2020. • Arabic: Beirut Taimes, 30 Aug 2020. Photo by the High Atlas Foundation, Morocco. Humanitarian crises have recently been declared in Sudan, Yemen, Niger, Mali, and Somalia—affecting at least 450,000 people—due to flash floods and landslides. Areas with […]
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Golden Seeds
HAF Project Manager FRÉ Skincare and HAF Partnering with Argan Cooperatives in Essaouira Argania Spinosa is the only type of argan tree around the world; it’s a tree endemic to Morocco and characteristic of North Africa for its biological, nutritional, socioeconomic, and ecological value. Argania Spinosa wood is an excellent source of charcoal. The tree’s […]
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The Women of Takhrkhourt Cooperative in Tassa Ouirgane
Article: سيدات تعاونية تاخرخورت بتسا ويركان, Beirut Times, By Amina El Hajjami. HAF’s Director of Projects After building an organic tree nursery and a well, and after facilitating participatory meetings and trainings concerning environmental protections with the farmers and the men’s association in Tassa Ouirgane village (Al Haouz province, Marrakech-Safi region), a project financed by the […]
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Teaming up for Renewable Energy
Project Assistant In order to realize more and more renewable energy achievements, the High Atlas Foundation has added a new and exciting collaboration to the list. This partnership is with Alliance Marocaine pour le Climat et le Développement Durable (AMCDD) and Association des Enseignants de la Vie et de la Terre (AESVT), who also share […]
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Cool News in a Warming World: Why Invest in Future Forests
Cool News in a Warming World: Why Invest in Future Forests, Daily News, By Finn Grundmann. HAF Volunteer, Plant Enthusiast, and Scientific Assistant in Ecosystem Restoration Projects Forests capture more than carbon. While through the mechanism of photosynthesis, plants are experts at retrieving carbon dioxide from the air, they have also perfected strategies to retain […]
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Distributing Food and Hygiene Materials in Taroudant Province: A Symbol of Social Solidarity
On July 27-28, a HAF team composed of Field Technician Abdeljalil, driver Mustapha, and I hit the road to Taroudant Province for the distribution of food and hygiene materials, a project implemented in partnership with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy as an act of social solidarity with people who have been severely impacted, economically and socially, […]
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Why Plant Trees?
Yossef Ben-Meir, Amina El Hajjami, and Ellen Hernandez HAF Colleagues The High Atlas Foundation (HAF) has been working with farming families in Morocco since 2000 to plant trees for sustainable agricultural development. The first question we are often asked is “Why plant trees?” Let us address that question as well as exploring other questions about […]
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My Experience with Grant Writing for the High Atlas Foundation
HAF Intern – UVA student As this was my first opportunity working on a grant proposal, I did not know much about the content and format of proposals previously; however, I knew that writing one was an important skill to acquire. Furthermore, I was able to explore new areas of the High Atlas Foundation’s work. […]
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Creating and Giving Joy to Others
Director of Projects Natural human tendency is to create security in our lives by trying to keep things the same, but we need to keep in mind that we will face challenges in our lives, and we can learn from them even if it is difficult for us in the beginning. We need to adapt […]
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Planting Trees: An Act of Faith
By Yossef Ben-Meir, Imane Akhezzane, and Ellen Hernandez The Qur’an speaks about water as the life force: the heavens and the Earth were a joined entity, and then they were separated and every living thing was made from water [21:30]. Everything needs water to survive, and among these, of course, are trees. Trees help us […]
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Integrations Revealed by Participation
There are a number of reasons that explain the ascendency over decades, and now the mainstream, of participatory approaches to meaningful development. We often see that when people decide upon the project or change that they most want, that they will give their energy and time to help ensure its continuity and success. We widely […]
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Monitoring Trees in Amizmiz: Another Way to Discover Moroccan Nature and History
HAF Projects Coordinator It was with great enthusiasm that I took the road to Amizmiz a week ago to evaluate the trees distributed by the High Atlas Foundation to various farmers in this region. Tree monitoring is a process rooted in the activities of the Foundation. This is a crucial and necessary step which allows […]
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في زيارة لتقييم الأشجار المثمرة
غالبا ما يعرف المشروع بأنه فكرة أو خدمة ساكنة معينة وكذلك الوصول إلى نتيجة معينة، حيث يكون نقطة بداية ونهاية يصل إليها المشروع عند تحقيق أهدافه أو الإخفاق في تحقيقها، ويتخذ المشروع كذلك أبعاد متعددة ومتنوعة مرتبطة أساسا بما هو اقتصادي أو اجتماعي أو تنموي، حيث يمر من عدة مراحل أولها مرحلة التحديد والتي يتم […]
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High Atlas Foundation’s Partnerships Extend Argan Oil Industry Women’s Empowerment
The argan oil industry’s impact on rural empowerment is growing nationwide, in part, because of international demand on women’s cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) launched in Morocco in 2005, which aims to “reduce poverty, grow the economy, and strengthen the kingdom’s social fabric” through participatory development, directly contributes to that industry’s […]
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An Illuminating Farmer-to-Farmer Story in Morocco
Arabic version French version Bill Nichols at the Women’s Cooperative of Tassa Ouirgane, Jan 2020 (HAF) Bill Nichols served as a volunteer consultant to the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) through the Farmer-to-Farmer Program (F2F) for two weeks in January 2020. Originally from New Mexico, now residing in Boston, Bill collaborated as an F2F volunteer with […]
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One Step Forward
As the High Atlas Foundation continues in its mission to contribute to the development of people while preserving the life of our planet by planting trees, a new partner who shares the same vision has joined our network through a partnership that contributes to the bigger goal. Moroccan Street is a start-up that preserves the […]
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Haf Is Recruiting Rpcvs to Serve as Volunteer Consultants Through the Farmer-to-Farmer Program
The High Atlas Foundation (HAF) seeks Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) who served in Morocco to return for assignments of two weeks or longer to assist Moroccan cooperatives in their fields of expertise. The assignments are within the framework of the USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) Program. Volunteers do not need to be farmers in order to […]
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World Rainforest Day: Working Towards a Positive Human-Environment Relationship
HAF-UVa Interns World Rainforest Day was started in 2017, with the hope that we take time to collectively recognize the preciousness and the importance of our world’s rainforests and take action to protect and preserve them. This year, World Rainforest Day is being celebrated Monday, June 22, and it is truly worth celebrating everywhere because […]
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Reaching Climate Justice
Arabic version A photo taken by Ilyas Dkhissi during a participatory approach meeting with men and women farmers in Fquih Ben Salah province – Beni Mellal region, on Sep, 4th 2019 For decades, climate change has been left to scientists – and they, to their credit, have given us the strong indication we need that […]
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Hope Growing in the Cradle of Diaspora
Hope Growing in the Cradle of Diaspora, Media for Freedom. • French: World News, 11 April 2020. Meandering through the dusty foothills of the Moroccan Atlas Mountains, I played an earnest game of speculation. I knew of my destination, its history and constitution, but had yet to see it or feel the restless potential it encapsulated. The […]
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مساهمة مؤسسة الأطلس الكبير في تخليد اليوم العالمي للأرض
متطوع بمؤسسة الاطلس الكبير بعد 50 سنة مضت والعالم بأسره يحتفل باليوم العالمي للأرض، باعتباره النواة واللبنة الأولى لوجود الحياة، وما له أيضا من حمولة رمزية وتاريخية ومجال لعيش جل الكائنات الحية الإنسان والحيوان والنبات، ومما لا شك فيه أن الإنسان من بين هذه الكائنات التي يتميز بالعقل الذي يجعله يتحمل مسؤولية أفعاله، إذن فهل […]