THE PROJECT STATUS OF THE HIGH ATLAS FOUNDATION

IN MOROCCO

ANNUAL REPORT: 2018

MARRAKECH | NEW YORK
January 2018

The Project Status of the High Atlas Foundation in Morocco:

An Annual Report of the State of the Organization: 2018

The High Atlas Foundation (HAF) was

founded in 2000 by Returned Peace Corps
Volunteers so that they can continue to advance
sustainable development with the Moroccan
people.
HAF is a United States 501c3 non-profit
organization (incorporated in the State of New
Mexico), and a Moroccan national civil association
that is registered in the provinces Al Haouz,
Boujdour, Oujda, and Taroudant.
Using a participatory planning approach, HAF works
to establish development projects in Morocco that
local communities and their associations, design
and manage, and that partner with government, civil society, and business. Since 2011,
HAF has Consultative Status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

HAF’s vision is Morocco’s vision for itself. HAF implements projects in

agriculture, education, heath, multiculturalism, and building capacities of community
groups to create development projects that they control. We are actively working with
Partners from all sectors and levels who provide vital contributions to local projects that
aim to address communities’ prioritized needs .
HAF’s vision is that in all Morocco, local communities - villages and neighborhoods -
identify, manage, and benefit in a transformative manner from human development. HAF
seeks to assist Moroccan programs and policies that bind participatory democracy ,
sustainable development, and people’s empowerment, especially for women, youth, and
marginalized rural and urban communities. HAF seeks Morocco to urgently seize its unique
opportunity and achieve fulfilling human development for all its people and to be a truly
successful example of a sustainability pat hway for the region and world.
For HAF, the financial engine to fund participatory development with communities in all
the country, is generated from advancing the entire agricultural chain: tree nurseries,
carbon credit monitoring and registering, organic certification, irrigation efficiency,
cooperative-building, product cultivation and processing, and global sales.
This Annual Report describes HAF’s important achievements in these and other central
project areas. We hope that you consider our proposals to achieve Moroccan
empowerment and growth, and partner with us for full dynamic sustainability .

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 The Project Status of the High Atlas Foundation in Morocco
Annual Report: 2018
Table of Contents
➢ GROWING TREES, REGISTERING CARBON C REDITS, AND C ERTIFYING ORGANIC.……………………….…3
▪ Transplanting Fruit Saplings from - and Planting New Seeds in - HAF Nurseries………………3
o HAF In-kind Land Donors and Thirteen Locations of Active Nurseries in Morocco.3
o HAF Signed or Pending Fifteen Land Agreements to Grow New Nurseries..…….…..4
▪ Carbon Credit Monitoring, Registering, and Certifying…………….………………………………………5
▪ Organic Fruit Tree Agriculture and Processing Certification…………………………………….………5
▪ HAF’s Project Proposals for Organic Agriculture and Carbon Offsets from Trees………………5
▪ HAF’s Agricultural Business Plans……………………………………………………………………………………6

➢ EMPOWERING WOMEN THROUGH SELF-DISCOVERY, AND RIGHTS-DEVELOPMENT-BASED APPROACH ..7

▪ HAF’s Project Proposals for Empowering Women……………………………………………………….....8

➢ BUILDING UPON SEVEN UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS FOR STUDENTS.......…….……….….……….………9

▪ Capacity-building in Development Planning and Management….………………………………..….9
▪ A Legal Aid Program to Advance Civil Society’s and Communities’ Capacity to Advocate….9
▪ Building Networks of Empowered, Skilled Individuals by Partnerships with Moroccan
Universities………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………... 10
▪ HAF’s Project Proposals for University Student Programs…………..…………………………………11

➢ SAMI’S PROJECT: BUILDING SCHOOL C OMMUNITIES……………………..…………………………….…….13

▪ HAF’s Project Proposals to Enhance School Communities………………………………………………13

➢ HAF’S INTEGRATES MULTICULTURALISM AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT………………………..….14

▪ HAF’s Project Proposals for Multiculturalism and Development……………..…………………….15

➢ CONSERVING THE BIODIVERSITY OF LAKE IFNI AND ITS ECOSYSTEM, PROTECTING IT AGAINST
POLLUTION, AND ENSURING SUSTAINABLE ECOTOURISM …………………………………….……….…….16

➢ HAF’S MULTI-FACETED VOLUNTEER PROGRAM………….……………………….…………………..………16

➢ HAF EVENTS IN MOROCCO AND THE UNITED STATES …………..…………….………………………………17

▪ Proposed HAF Events in Morocco and the United States…………………………………………..…..17

➢ ADVOCATING PEOPLE ’S PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPMENT AT ALL LEVELS OF SOCIETY ………..….......18

▪ Articles about HAF and sustainable development in Morocco (2015-2017)…………………....18

➢ HAF’S FINANCES AND MANAGEMENT…………………………….……….….…………………………………20

➢ CONCLUDING THOUGHTS…………………...…………………………………………………………………..….21

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 1 January 2018 - HAF in Morocco is achieving sustainable development:
➢ GROWING TREES, REGISTERING CARBON CREDITS, AND CERTIFYING ORGANIC:

▪ Through April 2018, HAF and communities are planting in nine regions
HAF walnut and almond tree
nursery in Tadmamt, Al Haouz;
225,000 fruit saplings grown from seeds in thirteen HAF nurseries; Then,
land in-kind from Regional we are planting in HAF nurseries 1.3 million seeds through April 2019:
Department of Waters and
Forests, funded by UNDP.
Now through April 2018, HAF is transplanting 225,000
organic fruit saplings from its thirteen nurseries located
in seven provinces: Al Haouz, Azilal, Fes, Ifrane, Moulay
Yacoub, Oujda, and Taroudant. Farming families,
associations, cooperatives, and schools in nine regions
of Morocco (see map below) will receive trees in-kind,
and are the entire beneficiaries of the fruit and income.
The fruit trees transplanted from HAF nurseries into
farmers’ fields and schoolyards are: almond, argan,
carob, fig, grape, olive, pomegranate, and walnut.
Through April 2019, HAF is planting 1.3 million seeds
into these nurseries, benefiting people in 25 provinces.
The nurseries are funded by Ecosia (a social business based in Berlin, Germany) and the
United Nations Development Program , and prior by the Bureau of Oceans, Environment,
and Scientific Research (U.S. government). Since 2003, HAF planted 2.2 million seeds and
trees with farming families and schools. Approximately ten thousand household incomes
are impacted (60,000 rural people). Partners included: U.S. Ambassadors Empowerment
Fund, Earth Day Network, Infocore, Trees for Life, Caterpillar, Penney Family Fund, and
GlobalGiving.
HAF organizes annual
tree planting events
on the third Monday
of January with
communities and
schools. The events
connect people and
coincide with Martin
Luther King Day of
Volunteerism. This
year on January 15th,
HAF planted 3,000
trees with 57 schools
in 10 provinces, and it
is ongoing (350
schools since 2013,
see Sami’s Project on
page 13).

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 HAF gratefully received land in-kind from, and has active nurseries in, 13 locations
in Morocco (combined they produce 1 million trees every 2 years):
Direction Régionale des Eaux et Forêts-Marrakech (Tadmamt-Asni, Al Haouz)

Adrar Agricultural Cooperative (Ijoukak, Al Haouz)

Aboghlou Cooperative (Tnine-Ourika, Al Haouz)

Moroccan Jewish community of Marrakech-Sofi (Tomsloht, Al Haouz)

Tassa-Ouirgane Village (Ouirgane, Al Haouz)

Education Delegation (Houssein Bin Ali school, Moulay Yacoub)

Education Delegation (Salam school, Ifrane)

University Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah (Fes)

Al Akhawayn University (Ifrane)

Children Protection Center (Fes)

Children Protection Center (Oujda)

Above: Almond nursery with Imdoukal Imdoukal Znaga Cooperative (Ouaouizerth, Azilal) Above: Carob in Al Akhawayn, Ifrane.
Znaga in Ouaouizerth, Azilal. Below: Below: Almond and Calendula nursery with
Fruit tree nursery at Tomsloht (Al the Aboghlou Women's Cooperative
Private Individual (Ouanzourt-Toubkal, Taroudant) (Ourika, Al Haouz). Coop dries flowers and
Haouz) on land in-kind from Moroccan
Jewish Community of Marrakech-Sofi. sells to Yves Saint Laurent Beauté.

HAF has 15 in-kind land agreements for new nurseries

(these nurseries will produce 5 million trees / 2 years):
Direction Régionale des Eaux et Forêts (Ijoukak, Al Haouz)

Direction Régionale des Eaux et Forêts (Imzourhnane, Azilal)

Direction Régionale des Eaux et Forêts (Taroudant)

Direction Régionale des Eaux et Forêts (Ouazzane, Tetouane)

Agriculture Extension Center, (Asjen, Tetouane)

Education Delegation (Smimou school, Essaouira)

Education Delegation (Nasr school, Boujdour)

Education Delegation (Allal Lfassi school, Youssoufia)

Education Delegation (Atlas school, Ain Leuh, Ifrane)

Faculty of Law (Mohammedia)

Association Akhyam (Outerbate and N’zala, Errachidia)
Above: Nursery land in Ijoukak (Al
Haouz), in-kind from DREF-Marrakech.
Below: Agriculture Extension Center-- Moroccan Jewish Community (Ourzazate, Demnat, Al Haouz)
Asjen, DPA Ouazzane. The 1-hectare
nursery will cultivate endemic fig trees
and process product. (Photo: Ministry High Atlas Foundation | 4
officials and HAF president).
 ▪ Carbon credit monitoring, registering, and certifying:

HAF built its capacity to register carbon offsets from the trees it planted with Moroccan
communities since 2014. These credits can be sold in the global marketplace. The South
Pole Group, based in Switzerland, is working with HAF toward certifying carbon credits
sequestered by trees – on private and public land – whose growth HAF monitors.
HAF works with local and national
officials of the Department of o In 2017, HAF signed a partnership agreement with the High Commission
Waters and Forests for carbon of Waters and Forests and the Fight against Desertification that enables
credit monitoring and certification,
sequestered by fruit and forestry HAF to monitor, have certified, and sell the carbon credits sequestered
trees on private and public lands. by the nation’s forests. Based on the agreement, the revenue generated
from the sale of credits are to be used to grow nurseries inside Morocco
and in other African countries, to promote South -South collaboration.
❖ In the agreement with the Regional Department of Waters and
Forests-Beni Mellal, is included a forest (Timzidine, Azilal) to
participate in this carbon credit program. HAF registers and
monitors trees and creates maps using Geographic Information
Systems, to support carbon credit certification .
o Since 2016, HAF partners with Yves Saint Laurent Beauté and Project PUR
to plant and monitor for carbon offsets 48,000 fruit trees in the Ourika
Valley of Al Haouz province. In 2017, two Farmer-to-Farmer Volunteers
(partnership described on page 17) helped assess our carbon initiative.

▪ Organic fruit tree agriculture and processing:

o Since 2015-16, HAF worked with 23 villages covering 300 hectares in the
Toubkal municipality of Taroudant province, involving more than 700
farmers, to gain organic certification through Ecocert for walnuts and
almonds, opening international markets to them. The Agency for
Partnership and Progress (MCC) supported the training component.
o Partnering with the Idraren Cooperative in 2016, HAF processed – with
first-time employed 60 women trained in organic hand ling – 16 tons of
walnuts and almonds and 1,000 liters of walnut oil. The product was sold
in Morocco and the United States. Contributors to different aspects of
this initiative are the Alliance for Global Good (USA), Lucky’s Market,
National Endowment for Democracy, and the Bureau of Oceans,
Environment, and Scientific Research .

HAF processes organic certified

walnuts and almonds; partner
Idraren Cooperative (Al Haouz). HAF’s Proposals for Organic Agriculture and Carbon Credits
Product sold in Morocco and U.S.

▪ Grow fifteen new organic fruit tree and medical plant nurseries: This
proposed project is in full cooperation with diverse government, civil, and

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 private partners (listed above) in nine provinces, generating five million
plants every two-years. This will impact approximately 200,000 rural people
and 1,000 schools, as the trees mature over a six to ten -year period.

▪ Expand carbon monitoring and certification: This proposal is to expand the

enormous carbon credit opportunity to 25 provinces (where HAF has existing
partnership activities) to generate revenue and reinvest in expanding organic
fruit tree growing in Morocco (and Africa, via the Agreement with the High
Commission of Waters and Forests ).

▪ Seed Bank: To return traditional crop varieties to farms, HAF and partners
have been enabled with the help of two Farmer-to-Farmer Volunteers
(funded by USAID and administered by Land O’ Lakes) to assess local agro-
biodiversity threats and opportunities, as well as structural design . As a
result, we have a proposal (and business plans below enabled by Farmer-to-
HAF's team works closely with Farmer, U.S. Embassy Small Grants, and SEED) to create a seed bank in Asni
international partners, experts,
volunteers, and visitors who of Al Haouz to preserve local varieties, wild relatives , and wild medicinal
make essential contributions for plants. The goal is that the seed bank will demonstrate the inherent value of
project implementation and
success. traditional crops and ensure that farmers have access to planting material.

For Ouazzane and its region, ▪ Carob and fruit cultivation and processing: HAF plans to extend its activities
there is a major opportunity and
need for endemic fig cultivation to the region of Tangier -Tetouan-Al Hoceima, Province of Ouazzane, through
of 14 threatened varieties. Carob the launch of a project for the production and enhancement of tree and agro -
plantations on public land and
for community benefit is also industries and forestry by:
vital for sustainable development o Carrying a 605-hectare carob plantation on state-owned land which is not
and income.
currently being exploited and is within the Rural Commune of Mzefroune,
after the agreement with the competent authorities
o The installation of a crushing unit, production of carob flour and baggin g
o The establishment and management of a nursery of fruit and agro -
forestry plants and free distribution of plants to farmers in the region:
carob, fig, pomegranate, vine, plum tree, and pear trees

HAF’s Agricultural Business Plans

HAF showcases product at the Africa and

▪ Organic processing and export of walnuts and almonds, Fancy Food Shows – 2016-17

raw and oil (Asni, Azilal, Errachidia, Midelt, Taroudant)

▪ Process and sell apple cider vinegar (Marrakech region)

▪ Cultivate, certify organic, and export sale of

pomegranate and quinoa

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 ▪ Lease and cultivate 100 hectares in Oujda region; grow
a nursery of endemic trees, and orchard for income; sell
fruit and carbon credits, reinvest in community projects
HAF President and Board Members are
planning with provincial leaders of Bouarfa,
Oujda Region; 50,000 fruit trees are being
planted with communities, 2017-18.
➢ EMPOWERING WOMEN THROUGH SELF-DISCOVERY, AND A RIGHTS-
DEVELOPMENT-BASED APPROACH :

HAF has been working in the field of women's empowerment since 2011. Working with the
Middle East Partnership Initiative, HAF first built capacities in participatory planning with
elected women to municipal councils in the Rhamna province. The HAF’s women’s
empowerment workshops (2016-2017), funded by the National Endowment for
Democracy, have now evolved into a rights-based approach. Using three complimentary
activities, HAF aims to create agents of social change with university students and rural
women. Our empowerment program reduces barriers to manifest women's place as pillars
of society. The three activities and their objectives are:
o “Imagine'” is a self-discovery workshop developed at the Empowerment
Institute in the United States. Throughout the personal growth process,
we assist women in finding their voices and achieving their goals.
o Integrated with “Imagine” is 'Moudawana' (2004), based on a rights-
based approach, bringing together women to learn about legal
protections and determine ways to further social justice.
o Cooperative-building grows from empowerment gained during the
“Imagine-Moudawana” experience and supports women's coo peratives
and their development to create greater financial independence, expand
networks, and promote change in women's role s in their communities.
Using the rights-based approach, HAF strengthens women as rights
holders by providing tools to advocate and act on their needs and goals.
❖ Three-hundred women benefited from a series of Imagine
empowerment workshops, from the Provinces of Al Haouz,
Boujdour, and Marrakech.
❖ From them, ten female university students received training for
trainers to become facilitators of empowerment programs. Results
were demonstrated when beneficiaries undertook to create
cooperatives and self-employment initiatives.
❖ A group of thirty-five women addressed illiteracy by hir ing a
female university student and starting a literacy program in their
village. Participants who attended the training are supporting
their children’s education. Sixty-five joined parent associations
and are actively involved in efforts to improve local schools.

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 ❖ This program has now evolved into HAF fostering a network of
empowered agents of change, who support women in achieving
their rights.
o Over ninety-four percent of the women who participated in HAF’s 2017
assessment, had before never heard about Moudawana . Most
communities indicated that they felt left behind; that national processes
and changes hardly reached remote areas, and that even if they were
aware of their rights, they felt they could not secure them. Conducting
this assessment research, HAF trie d to understand the specific reasons.
Al Haouz Province was chosen as the pilot area, due to access and
previous development relationships between HAF and the communities,
providing trust between the two sides.
o Using the focus group method, sixteen part icipatory assessment
workshops were conducted from August -December 2017 (four months).
One additional workshop took place in Marrakech, which was set as a
control group. Ninety-three women from Al Haouz took part in the
assessment. Targeting women corresponds with the global understanding
of women's important role in creating sustainable development and
promoting community growth. Full study available.
o Testimonials from these workshops are profound, including:
❖ “I’ve never had such an opportunity as this. We need such exercises
to listen to our inner voice and beliefs.”
❖ “I promise myself to look for a dormitory school to complete my
studies.”
❖ “As a widow woman of two kids I didn’t have the courage to ask
anyone for work.”
❖ “As a mother of three I have b een busy working at home for many
years. Now I am able to participate in empowerment training that
helps me to discover that I have great capacities and skills that I
truly would like to use outside of the house.”
❖ “I am earning money to live a better life. ”

HAF’s Project Proposals for Women’s Empowerment

▪ Rights-based approach and Participatory Empowerment with Moroccan

Women: Supporting Moroccan Women in stepping into the forefront of
leading decentralization and social change (seven regions in Morocco)
o Building on its Education Community partnerships since 2008, HAF seeks to create
seven hubs of rights-based-participatory empowerment in Morocco: in Beni

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 Mellal, Fez, Ifrane, Marrakech, Mohammedia, Oujda, and Rabat. Youth will
participate to build behavioral change via civic engagement, the application of
human rights, and employability. The goal is to provide students and rural women
with tools to take an active role as facilitators of Imagine, Moudawana, and
Cooperative-building.

▪ Sowing Seeds to Harvest Trees of Influence: Empowering Rural Moroccan

Women
o This project builds a stronger and more prosperous economy with women’s active
participation in the processing of raw materials, promoting an educated
workforce, and redressing women’s socio-economic disadvantages; and
empowers women by strengthening their agency through self and communal
legitimization and leadership.

➢ BUILDING UPON SEVEN UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS WITH STUDENTS:

▪ This initiative implements capacity-building in development

planning and management with university students . In 2008, HAF created
– in partnership with Hassan II University’s Faculty of Law, Economics, and
Social Sciences in Mohammedia – the Center for Community Consensus -
Building and Sustainable Development . The Center’s mission is to advance local
participation in the planning and implementation of socio -economic projects –
by way of experientially training students, faculty, members of civil society,
elected officials, government technicians, community leaders, and citizens.
o This has achieved effective skills-building with four hundred and thirty
students and two hundred members of civil organizations in the areas of
needs assessment for community action planning, organizational
development, project management , and advocacy (funded by the Middle
East Partnership Initiative, Embassy of the Netherlands in Rabat, and
National Endowment for Democracy (NED)).
o Student and civil society activists designed and implemented 16 school
and youth projects and assisted the formation of three municipal
federations of civil society organizations in the Moh ammedia Province.
Civil society committees have contributed to the evaluation of four
municipal development plans.

▪ In 2016-2017, HAF implemented a Legal Aid Program to advance

civil society’s and communities’ capacity to advocate for policy
reforms in the Mohammedia and Boujdour Provinces. During the duration of
this NED-funded project, HAF staff organized and facilitated a total of thirty
capacity-building workshops; sixteen round table discussions; and twenty -seven
meetings, where five priority topics were analyzed and strategies to address
them were developed. These efforts involved a total of thirty -nine university

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 students (eighteen women and twenty-one men) and one-hundred-five civil
society activists and community leaders (forty -five women and fifty-six men),
representing eighty-four civil society organizations in Mohammedia and
Boujdour. Examples of tangible outcomes of the program included:
o In Mohammedia and Boujdour, ninety percent of newly elected communal
representatives were among the civil society activists.
o In Mohammedia’s commune of Ain Harrouda, ninety -five percent of the
newly-elected communal representatives participated in legal aid
workshops and activities.
o Newly-elected councils in Mohammedia and Boujdour created communal
development plans with active involvement of civil society .
o The Legal Aid Program benefitted civil society activists with disabilities
and civil society organizations that provide them services. Two projects
were created to directly benefit this vulnerable group.
❖ The first was an advocacy strategy to ensure equal access for
people with disabilities to governm ent buildings in
Mohammedia. Civil society activists were able to meet with the
Governor and representatives of elected councils to activate and
enforce all existing regulations and policies regarding disability
and accessibility. The infrastructure necessary to ensure equal
access was installed in six government premises in the province.
❖ The aim of the second project was to create a vocational training
structure for teenagers with Down Syndrome. The HAF team
helped secure funding for a year-long training for six teenagers
currently preparing for their diploma to become chefs.
o In the long term, the most lasting impact of th e Legal Aid Program is the
fact that the law clinic is still, to this date, operating and providing legal
aid services to university students, civil organization s, elected officials,
and individuals from the Province of Mohammedia. Based on statistics
provided by officials of the Faculty of Law in Mohammedia, master
degree law students have provided twenty -eight-hundred hours of legal
service to two-hundred-thirty individuals, among them one-hundred-
seventy-five women, thirty-eight of whom represent local associations.

▪ HAF aims to build networks of empowered, skilled individuals by

the following partnerships with Moroccan universities: These
partnerships have launched Centers for Sustainable Development , or hubs for
participatory democratic citizenry, which are tailored to the specificities of each
local context. The proposed program consolidates the empowerment efforts into
one cohesive, holistic, approach that p roduces measured change and thereby
permits sound replication.

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o Al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane (AUI) – This university
partnership supports student-community engagement by applying
participatory approaches and growing an AUI-Community almond
and carob tree nursery (shown in photo). The end-purpose of these
priorities is to alleviate poverty among disadvantaged local
communities and groups; with community members and students,
these efforts reach the Ifrane - Azrou region.
o École de Hautes Études Économiques et Commerciales (HEEC) in
Marrakech – This partnership builds collaboration and synergies
between HAF and HEEC in engineering techniques of development
projects. With HAF, students are afforded real -world learning
experiences through volunteering and community service. The
perspectives in areas of sustainable development further
reinforces student’s workforce readiness.
o Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II (IAV HII) and the
Jeunes Leaders Marocains (JLM) in Rabat – The JLM team
comprises the IAV HII program which promotes Moroccan youth
activism in sustainable, socio -economic development and a Club
to implement projects. The partnership supports “AgriEscort”
where JLM members build capacities of the associations and
cooperatives with whom HAF works in organic agriculture. Training
includes: nursery management, product processing, organic
certification and farming, and promoting participatory practices.
o University Hassan II, Faculty of Law, Economics, and Social
Sciences in Mohammedia – HAF’s initial university partnership to
address the significant need i n Morocco to train facilitators of
participatory community planning and project management.
Beyond the participatory training, HAF built an innovative Legal
Aid Program where students provide legal services for CSOs and
marginalized persons, focusing on political, economic, and social
areas of law (rights) that impact abilities to engage in efficient
advocacy efforts for reform.
o University Mohamed I, Center for Human and Social Studies and
Research in Oujda – In Oujda, HAF is now partnering with the
Middle East Partnership Initiative to build the capacity of 162
youth and women from regional cooperatives. The training -action
covers: Project set-up; Business planning; Monitoring of projects;
Social and associative skills; Participatory planning; Technical and
scientific skills; Professional organization; Management and
accounting; Territorial marketing; Communication; Legislation;
Moudawana and youth development . The project will also create
a network around development projects of common interest.
o University Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah and the Association des
Experts Bénévoles pour le Développement in Fes – The three-party
agreement promotes networks between researchers and actors of

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 sustainable development, promoting dialogue, reflection, and
action. The Center promotes innovation between students and
teachers, and stimulates scientific and pedagogical synergies .
❖ For the signing of the HAF-USMBA partnership, we set aside
a moment during a reception held at the residence of the
United States Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco,
Dwight Bush Sr., in the presence of Mr. André Azoulay,
advisor to the King of Morocco. The event itself celebrated
House of Life - an interfaith tree nursery and integrated
HAF President with USMBA President Omar agricultural project of HAF (as well as a commitment-to-
Essobhei, and Mostsfa Mouslih, President of
Volunteer Experts for Development, signing our action of the Clinton Global Initiative).
Partnership Agreement (2015). Observing are U.S.
Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco, Dwight o SUPMTI - Ecole Sperierure de Management d’Informatique, et de
Bush, Sr. (right), and André Azoulay, Advisor to the
King of Morocco (left). Telecommunication in Ben- Mellal: The partnership’s mission is
to: i) promote community participation in planning and
implementing socio-economic projects, ii) build knowledge of
sustainable development policies through applied activities, iii)
create vital opportunities for youth to build their professional
skills and be community members who are catalysts, and iv)
facilitate sustainable human development.

HAF’s Project Proposals for University Student Programs

▪ Law Clinic and Legal Aid Programs at University Sidi Mohammed Ben
Abdellah, Fes: Supporting civil society through capacity-building and legal
aid to advocate for inclusion of vulnerable migrant and refugee groups
o Expanding to USMBA HAF’s successful program, we’ll introduce students
to the law’s application with migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees.

▪ Rights-based approach and participatory empowerment with Moroccan

Women: Supporting women students from seven Moroccan universities and
rural women in their surrounding regions in leading social change

▪ Oummat Salaam: HAF aims to counter divisive conceptual frameworks that

violent extremists propound. The initiative integrates educated youth and at-risk
community members through volunteerism and service-learning; creating job readiness,
and motivate increased social connectivity to build resilient communities.

▪ Participatory Development Planning Center in partnership with Regions of

Oujda and Taroudant: Centers are where members of communities,
government, civil society, and business, collaboratively design local projects.

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 ➢ SAMI’S PROJECT: BUILDING SCHOOL COMMUNITIES
Morocco’s schools, especially in rural places, have serious needs to enable students to
thrive in a healthy environment. HAF is dedicated to building school infrastructure, such
as water delivery systems, classrooms, bathrooms, dormitories, and gardens. We support
curriculum development, environmental education, and applied learning activities .
Sami's Project is a great initiative created for schoolchildren and their communities, and is
transforming education in rural areas. Fruit trees uplift the school landscape, providing
green spaces and shade while creating educational activities, nutritious food, and
sustainable income. Sami’s Project spreads the culture of planting among students so that
they may discover and practice innovative agricultural techniques. Sami's Project raises
consciousness of core values, such as mutual respect and trust.
HAF’s goal for 2018 is to plant 8,000 trees with 150 schools – engaging 18,000 students -
in 16 provinces. Since 2013 to date, HAF planted approximately 25,000 trees with nearly
350 schools in 22 provinces (PaperSeed Foundation, International Foundation, Rotary
Clubs, Embassy of Switzerland in Rabat, and G4S North and West Africa). HAF built water
systems and bathrooms for 12 schools (seven in Boujdour with Kosmos Energy; in Al Haouz
with Kahina Giving Beauty; and Rhamna with the American School in Marrakech). HAF
constructed three classrooms and a house for teachers (Rhamna with Foundation OCP).

HAF Project Proposals to Enhance School Communities

▪ Planting Future Stems: Innovative and high-demand employability skills

for Moroccan youth (Transforming 90 schools in Fes, Marrakech, Oujda
and Tetouan regions)

▪ Build drinking water systems at 30 schools that will also serve their entire
villages in Rhamna and Youssoufia
o HAF built drinking water systems with 26 villages (9,000
people) and 12 schools (1,200 students) (in Al Haouz,
Beni Mella (Organization of the Moroccan Community
in the U.S.), Boujdour, Rhamna (FOCP), and Taroudant
(Mossaic Foundation), reducing infant mortality and
illness, and increasing school retention for girls.

High Atlas Foundation | 13

 ➢ HAF’S INTEGRATES MULTICULTURALISM AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

An embodiment of Morocco’s integrated development approach is

its way to preserve its diverse cultures. Morocco’s vision is that
cultural activities should be advanced in integration with people’s
development. King Mohammed VI described in 2008: “That vi sion
consists in making sure culture serves as a driving force for
development as well as a bridge for dialogue.” HAF’s cultural
projects critically move forward human development, in education,
livelihoods, the environment, and with people in remote places.
Youth cleaning the Christian ▪ In Essaouira in 2013, HAF held a conference to present the results of its one -
cemetery (Essaouira).
year preservation and education program for the cemeteries of the three
religions in the presence of U.S. Consul-General, Mr. Brian Shukan and
representatives of local authorities, civil society , and project partners. Mr.
Shukan (bottom left photo greeting children ) welcomed the achievements of the
project, which trained caretakers in good practices, overseen cleaning and
planting activities with local community members, organized awareness -raising
events with local people, integrated over 400 individual students and
schoolchildren into educational and practical activities around cultural
knowledge preserved by the cemeteries, and worked wit h over 120 members of
local civil society. He said: "By making the cemeteries most welcoming,
encouraging more visitors to discover these
cemeteries for the first time and helping the
current generation to remember its rich roots
of their peaceful coexistence, this project will
help preserve the illustrious past of Essaouira
for future generations." The project was
initiated by HAF and its partners and funded by
the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural
Preservation and Essaouira Mogador.
▪ HOUSE OF LIFE is an innovative agricultural initiative whose implications are
broad and set in the specific context of Moroccan human development needs
and cultural history. The model thus created could be replicated throughout
North Africa, the Middle East, and beyond. The term HOUSE OF LIFE denotes a
traditional name for a Jewish cemetery. It was therefore particularly
appropriate for the former Governor of the Al Haouz Province, Younès Al
Bathaoui, to employ the phrase in respect of the project, led by HAF in Morocc o
Akrich: 1) Muslim-Jewish and endorsed by the Clinton Global Initiative . The uniqueness of the scheme
gathering (2016) when the trees lies in its intercultural aspect. HOUSE OF LIFE facilitates the free loan of land
were distributed. 2) Ambassador
Bush and Governor El Bathaoui adjoining Jewish burial sites, in order to establish organic tree and medicinal
planting a fig tree. nurseries for the benefit of farming communities .
o In 2014, the HAF pilot nursery on Jewish communal land was established
at Akrich, located on the northern side of the High Atlas in Al Haouz
province, around 25 kilometers south of Marrakech, at the site of the
700-year-old tomb of the healer Rabbi Raphael Hacohen . Since that time,
we planted 120,000 almond, fig, pomegranate, an d lemon seeds which

High Atlas Foundation | 14

 have reached maturity and now are maintained by about 1,000 farmers
and 130 schools. The project was funded by Wahiba Estergard and Mike
Gilliland, and the Lodestar Foundation.
o In 2016, the first trees from the pilot were handed to local children and
farmers by the Governor joined by the United States Ambassador to the
Kingdom of Morocco, Dwight Bush, Sr. Earlier, Ambassador Bush hosted
a reception for House of Life at his residence in Rabat, at which Advisor
to the King, André Azoulay, and for mer Peace Corps Director in Morocco,
Ellen Paquette, addressed the audience.
▪ Having started during the holy month of Ramadan
2017, HAF is hosting a series of community
meetings in the Mellah neighborhood of Marrakech
to prioritize local needs and establish a path for a
sustainable future. In coordination with the
Association Mimouna, Jewish Community of
Marrakech, Region of Marrakech-Safi and the
Marrakech Beladiya, HAF hosted a series of
traditional Moroccan breaks of fast with the local
community in order to foster participatory
development action. Immediately following these
interfaith meals at the Slat Lazama synagogue,
local residents and organization leaders developed
plans to achieve new projects - in clean drinking
water, education, and building revitalization.

HAF’s Project Proposals for Multiculturalism and Development

▪ Inter-faith Understanding and Empowerment in Essaouira, Morocco:

Preservation of the Franciscan Church: HAF seeks to restore the Franciscan Church
in Essaouira. The city government will transfer the church to local civil society to serve as
a location for public workshops, family education, and a meeting point for interfaith
relations and development stakeholders. Restoring the church will preserve the Moroccan
cultural past, and reflects the Moroccan model of social integration.
o Inter-community and inter-faith understanding, collaboration, and
cultural preservation in the Kingdom of Morocco: HAF seeks to initiate
a knowledge preservation and awareness program for the buildings of the
Essaouira medina which pertain to the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish faiths (i.e.,
mosques, zawiyas, churches, synagogues, and religious schools) and develop the
The Franciscan Church in historical narrative of these communities. This built heritage – which has variously
Essaouira, Morocco was once a disappeared and fallen into disuse – stands as a reminder of the rich multicultural
lively center of faith and
community. Today, it is crumbling past of this port city, where Arab and Amazigh Muslims, Jews and Christians
and not accessible to the public. shared a town, a life, work, a culture, and a language.

High Atlas Foundation | 15

Inside the wall is 1.5 hectares that the
Moroccan Jewish Community lent to
HAF for a tree nursery; in the middle
of the white structures is the burial of
Rabbi David Ou Moshe. The Province
of Ourzazate partners with this
initiative. ▪ Pluralistic Moroccan Human and Agricultural Development: The goal of the
project is to plant the two million seeds on land lent by the Moroccan Jewish Community
and implement the agricultural value-chain, including the export of organic certified
product to the United States and European Union. HAF proposes to grow two million seeds
in four nurseries in three provinces, transplant them to orchards and schools in the twelve
regions of Morocco, certify organic in three municipalities, monitor carbon offsets, and
provide training with community and cooperative members.

➢ CONSERVING BIODIVERSITY OF LAKE IFNI AND ITS ECOSYSTEM,

THE PROTECTING IT
AGAINST POLLUTION , AND ENSURING SUSTAINABLE ECOTOURISM

This new project is in partnership with the United Nations

Development Program, Toubkal National Park management
of DREF-Marrakech, and Association Toubkal. A primary
objective is to protect the b iological and landscape
biodiversity of Ifni Lake, located in the Toubkal National
Park. The banks and slopes around the lake will be stabilized
and the lake’s water retention will be protected.
If one compares the map of Toubkal published in 1968 and
the current state, the lake’s decline is clear, especially on its
west side where there is a catastrophic level of erosion. The
activities to be carried out aim at mechanical and biological measures to stop the masses
of sand and pebbles on the slopes from filling the lake. A waste collection infrastructure
will also be set up and a management and cleaning system will be created.
A second objective is to develop sustainable ecotourism around Lake Ifni, important for
the promotion biodiversity and the sustainable development of the local people. The
people have inherited the pastoral activities of their ancestors and having not gained other
income-generating activities, some families continue this degrading activity. The intention
is to develop ecotourism and to reach the maximum number of people.

➢ HAF’S MULTI-FACETED VOLUNTEER PROGRAM

Volunteers are integral to most all aspects of HAF’s operations. They assist in partnership -
building, communications, project analysis, design, evaluation, and planning. The
following three volunteer programs have made essential contributions to HAF’s
development work and in meeting the needs of marginalized communities :
o Farmer-to-Farmer Volunteers, in partnership with the U.S. cooperative -
Land O 'Lakes - and funded by USAID: From 2017 to 2018, HAF in Morocco
is visited by 30 volunteer-experts from the United States in areas related
to agricultural value -chains. Focuses include nursery production,
irrigation design, hydrology, carbon credit monitoring, product
commercialization, and developing business plans for organic agricultur e.
Volunteers visited all HAF nurseries, as well as the proposed new

High Atlas Foundation | 16

 nurseries referred to in this report. Results include a seasonal
management plan, a funded erosion/planting project, and business plans
for carbon credits, tree s, nuts, fig, pomegranate, and apple vinegar.
o Interns from different universitie s around the world visit for a period of
three-to-six months: associated with an internship is the development of
thesis research, and support of HAF operations. Interns have helped make
important advances for HAF in regards to women’s empowerment,
multicultural activities, and housing and development.
o Volunteers coming through partnership s with organizations (OCP Group,
youth agencies) and on their own: we are flexible as to their duration and
time of year – as the need for productive volunteers is consta nt. We build
volunteers’ assignments around their skill-sets and professional goals,
and that further HAF’s organizational needs and programs.

➢ HAF EVENTS IN MOROCCO AND THE UNITED STATES

HAF has held annual events from 2006 -2012 in Washington, DC, hosted by the Ambassador
of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United States, Aziz Mekouar, at his residence. HAF has
also held annual events in New York City (2005 -2012), including a Moroccan Film Festi val
held at Tribeca Film Center (2011 -2012, sponsored by Vogue, Western Union, and the
Moroccan National Tourist Office). In 2009 and 2016, the United States Ambassadors to
the Kingdom of Morocco (Thomas Riley and Dwight Bush, Sr.) , hosted events at their
residence in Rabat. We are grateful to the approximately 3,000 people
who have come to these events to support Moroccan human
development. Honored guests have included Her Royal Highness
Princess Lalla Meryem, His Excellency Andr é Azoulay, the late
Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, former Peace Corps Director Carol
Bellamy, and musician Jimmy Buffett. We remembered together the
late Kate Jeans-Gail (former Peace Corps Volunteer) and her mother
Victoria, and built HAF’s first nursery i n their loving memory.

Proposed HAF’s Events in Morocco and the United States

▪ HAF event at the United Nations in New York: HAF’s

Consultative Status at the U.N. enables us to host events on U.N.
premises. We propose a gathering of people who connect with global
development and African and Middle Eastern societies, and people
interested in Morocco and building its civil, business, government,
cultural, and academic relationships around the world. The theme of the
event is that Morocco’s vision for development, and that of HAF, are
rooted in participation, and like-minded organizations can thrive, and
help Morocco show a way to prosperity for the region and world.

High Atlas Foundation | 17

 ▪ HAF will host events in New York and Morocco in support of its sale of
carbon credit offsets to organizations and individuals.
HAF President Ben-Meir
speaking at HAF event (2012) at
Carnegie Hall in New York City.

➢ ADVOCATING PEOPLE ’S PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPMENT AT ALL LEVELS OF SOCIETY

HAF and its partners advocate for projects and policies that enable community-driven
development. Our advocacy takes the form of sharing information with all concerned
public, civil, and private agencies. In addition, the staff of HAF research, write, and publish
articles about development opport unities and challenges in Morocco and its region (in
English, Arabic, and French), that are of interest to a global audience.
Articles by HAF staff and by independent journalists about HAF and the many aspects of
sustainable development in Morocco and elsewhere, are the following (201 5-2017):

2017
HAF Volunteers

o Accelerating Sustainable Development Toward 2030 , 16th Session of the

Committee of Experts on Public Administration , HAF Statement, 2017.
o Volunteers Create Worlds, Center for Research on Globalization , by
Yossef Ben-Meir (HAF President), 2017
o Participatory Planning of Housing and Community Development, Journal
Ben-Meir discussing at Slat Lazama of Business and Economics, by Yossef Ben-Meir (HAF President), 2017
Synagogue in Marrakech
revitalization of the mellah.
o Alternative Politics of Renewal. Center for Research on Globalization , by
Yossef Ben-Meir (HAF President), 2017.
o Moroccan Jewish Community Promotes Interfaith Harmony via
Development Projects, San Diego Jewish World, by Yossef Ben-Meir (HAF
President), 2017
o Morocco: Addressing Shantytowns in an Emerging Democracy , Eurasia
Review, by Wajiha Inbrahim (HAF Inte rn), 2017

2016

Planting carob seeds with youth at the

Children Protection Center in Fes.
o Supporting the Kingdom of Morocco, Eurasia Review, by Yossef Ben-Meir
(HAF President), 2016
o Countering Extremism through Human Development , University World
News, by Yossef Ben-Meir (HAF President), Mouhssine Tadlaoui -Cherki
(HAF Program Manager), and Kati Roumani (HAF Volunteer), 2016

High Atlas Foundation | 18

Women’s planning meeting for o Women and Trees – Empowerment and Planting, The Hans of India, by
projects in Tassa Ouirgane (Al Haouz)
Mark Apel (HAF-Farmer-to-Farmer Volunteer), 2016
o Moroccan Decentralization – Challenges to Genuine Implementation,
Indigenous Policy Journal, by Yossef Ben-Meir (HAF President), 2016
o Decentralization in Morocco: An Innovative Solution to Promote Human
Development, Global Innovation Exchange, HAF staff, 2016
o Global Bottom-Up by 2030?, Media for Freedom, by Yossef Ben-Meir (HAF
President), 2016
o A Legacy of Peace Corps Service , Friends of Morocco, by Lillian Thompson
(HAF-Peace Corps Response Volunteer), 2016
o Between Despondency and Hope in Morocco’s Oriental Region , The
Perspective, by Elle Houby (HAF writer), 2016
Meeting with youth at the o A Message to a World Rife with Terrorism , The algemeiner, by Emma
Center for the Protection of
Children (Oujda, Oriental). Tobin (HAF Intern), 2016
o What is the Value of a Woman?, ZNET, by Emma Tobin (HAF Intern), 2016
o Growing Trees to Mend Old Wounds, Modern Ghana, by Emma Tobin (HAF
Intern), 2016
o High Atlas Foundation Partners with Clinton Global Initiative in Tree
Planting Project near Marrakesh, Morocco World News, by Colette
Apelian (Independent Journalist) , 2016
Farmers who received walnut
trees provided by Tadmamt o On the Cusp of Change - Walnut Distribution in Tadmamt, Al Haouz , World
(Al Haouz) for the first time.
News, by Elle Houby (HAF writer), 2016
o Paradigm Project for the Future: Location: Morocco , Indigenous Policy
Journal, by Yossef Ben-Meir (HAF President), 2016
o How a Jewish Cemetery is Bringing a Moroccan Village to Life, Middle East
Eye, by Mathew Green (Independent Journalist), 2016
o New Vistas for Students: Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez,
HAF and USMBA presidents. Morocco, Modern Ghana, by Yossef Ben-Meir, 2016

2015

o How to Plant Morocco’s Billion Trees , Scoop News, by Yossef Ben-Meir

(HAF President), 2015
o Implementing the UN's Sustainable Development Goals , Transconflict, by
Yossef Ben-Meir (HAF President), 2015

High Atlas Foundation | 19

 o Meet 2015er: Yossef Ben-Meir, U.N. Dispatch, Mythili Sampathkumar
(staff writer), 2015
o Figs May Provide Security for Rural Moroccans, World Policy Blog, by Ida
Sophie Winter (HAF writer), 201 5
o Figuig: A Troubles Home for Morocco’s Rarest Date , Middle East Eye, by
Ida Sophie Winter (HAF writer), 2015
Aziza dates from Figuig. HAF seeks to
build a lab in order to grow Aziza date
o Yaoundé: Government, Civil Sector Officials Discuss How Climate Change
seeds into trees (they are fragile and Threatens Water and Development , Worldstage, by Ida Sophie Winter
require a controlled environment). (HAF writer), 2015
o Northern Cameroon's Water Shortage , World Policy Institute, by Ida
Sophie Winter (HAF writer), 2015
o Meet the High Atlas Botanical Superhero , Green Prophet, by Ida Sophie
Winter (HAF writer), 2015
o Lending Land to Enhance Life, Scoop News, by Kati Roumani (HAF
Moroccan Decentralization: Step by Step, Jerusalem Post, by Yossef Ben-
Meir (HAF President), 2015
o Austerity or Stimulus? Participatory Development Offers a Third Way ,
Ben-Meir in Yaoundé facilitating a
water management workshop.
Belfast Telegraph, by Yossef Ben-Meir (HAF President), 2015
o Morocco and South-South Unity, Libération, by Yossef Ben-Meir (HAF
President), 2015

Participants in HAF’s empowerment

o A Fresh Template for a Changing Reality , World Policy Institute, by Yossef
workshop (Ourika, Al Haouz). Ben-Meir (HAF President), 2015
o Happy Tears: Human Connection Leading to Human Development ,
Morocco World News, by Yossef Ben-Meir (HAF President), 2015
o Human Development in the Arab Spring: The Implications of
Decentralization for Societies in the Context of Human Development,
Foreign Policy Journal, by Yossef Ben-Meir (HAF President), 2015

HAF’s Finances and management: HAF properly manages contributions

provided by government, corporations, civil society, and thousands of individuals -
international and Moroccan. Since its founding, HAF has raised $3,566,770 in support of
human development projects and capacity -building in Morocco. HAF upholds the highest
standards of grant management, reporting, financial monitoring, and auditing. It maintains
financial records relating to all expenditures and field logs of all project ac tivities. HAF
uses the QuickBooks accounting system to track all grant and activity expenses .
HAF is audited annually by an external U.S. accounting firm , and files tax forms with the
United States Internal Revenue Service. HAF disseminates all informat ion regarding its
project activities, fundraising, and its financial allocations to projects with the Office of
the Secretary General of the Government of Morocco , and the governors in Morocco in
whose jurisdictions HAF’s projects are located. HAF also po sts for the public its project

High Atlas Foundation | 20

and financial activities on Guidestar, where it has a gold seal of transparency , and on
GlobalGiving, where HAF has a Superstar level.
HAF currently has 22 paid staff members , and may have five volunteers at any one time.
Its main office is in Marrakech. The organization is led on matters of strategic development
by its founder and president, Yossef Ben -Meir, Ph.D. HAF’s Director in Morocco , who
manages its daily operations, is Larbi Didouqen. Fatima Zahra Laaribi is HAF’s office
manager and is a women’s empowerment trainer. Core project managers are Amina El
Hajjami, Naima Benazzi, Rachid Montassir, Hana Ezaoui, and Abdelghani Lamnaouar. HAF’s
financial management is conducted by Mouhssine Tadlaoui -Cherki. HAF’s Board of
Directors in the United States is led by Bruno Mejean and Ellen Paquette . In Morocco, its
Board of Directors is led by Haj Ahmed Amazzal.

Concluding thoughts: There is systemic poverty that afflicts the majority of people
in Morocco. However, there are established national structures and initiatives to advance
sustainable human development. Their intention - and HAF’s - is to catalyze people’s
development that meets communities’ self-described priority needs.
The nation has exemplary models for sustainable and shared growth, driven by the
participatory method. It remains a serious challenge , however, to achieve the inclusive
and widespread implementation of these development goals because the skills to organize
and facilitate local coll aborative planning are not well-dispersed.
The High Atlas Foundation recommends engaged capacity-building workshops with
members of society who interface with communities , such as from civil associations,
government, teachers, youth, retirees, and residents. Training in facilitating participatory
methods for planning development projects is most effective when it is learning-by-doing,
with applied experiences.
The High Atlas Foundation seeks to multiply the amount of the revenue generated from
the organic agricultural and carbon credit value -chain – working from growing nurseries to
global sales – and to utilize the new income to finance participatory community planning
and implementing the sustainable projects that a re identified by the people. We hope you
work with us to achieve the projects
of the Moroccan people outlined in
this Annual Report.
Morocco’s challenge is similarly
faced by nations that are guided by
practical and universal ideals: to
conscientiously embody act-by-act
the progressive values that are
intended to build national
development now and in the future.
Morocco’s success is of vital
importance for itself, and for the
dispersion of participatory
principles of social organization in
its region.

High Atlas Foundation | 21

TEL | +212 (0) 5 24 42 08 21 FAX | +212 (0) 52 443 00 02 | La Fondation du Haut Atlas | 4 Rue Qadi Ayaad, Al Manar 4A, Marrakech, Maroc | www.highatlasfoundation.org
U.S.: +1 646 688 2946 U.S.: +1 646 786 4780 High Atlas Foundation | 332 Bleecker Street, #K110 | New York, NY 10014 USA haf@highatlasfoundation.org