Argan Nursery and Forest in Essaouira, Morocco

Since the devastating earthquake of September 2023, women in the affected communities of the Al Haouz Province have faced compounding challenges, including housing reconstruction, economic instability, and disruptions to formal education. Despite these circumstances, participating women’s cooperatives have remarkable resilience and a deep commitment to improving their livelihoods while strengthening their local communities.

With support from the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) continues to implement the Tree Sacks Program as an integrated model of women’s economic empowerment, environmental sustainability, and community development. During the current reporting period, the project focused on two complementary priorities: the expansion and consolidation of a Women’s Literacy Program, and the technical improvement of the biodegradable tree sacks.

The Tree Sacks

The project was built around a powerful idea: replace plastic nursery bags with a biodegradable alternative that breaks down naturally when placed in the ground. Early on, the women’s cooperatives achieved highly impressive scaling metrics, producing 137,721 biodegradable sacks between January and June 2025. 

Field monitoring then revealed that the original fabric began to degrade prematurely after roughly six to eight months of continuous exposure to harsh outdoor nursery conditions. Rather than continuing mass production with a material that did not perfectly fulfill the field requirements, HAF and its cooperative partners made the strategic decision to temporarily pause large-scale manufacturing while engineering a more durable biodegradable solution. The manufacturer has since increased UV stabilizers within the polymer blend and successfully increased the material thickness while preserving its certified biodegradable profile. Pilot tests are underway as of June 2026.

While mass assembly is paused, the cooperatives are utilizing this time to strengthen their operational readiness through quality-control workshops, sewing accuracy assessments, and preventative machine maintenance. HAF has turned a production pause into an intensive optimization phase: the women’s technical skills remain sharp, and the cooperatives are positioned to scale up seamlessly the moment the upgraded fabric is deployed.

The Literacy Program

As the project evolved, literacy emerged as a critical component for ensuring the long-term sustainability of the cooperatives. Working with Morocco’s National Agency for the Fight Against Illiteracy (ANLCA), HAF trained three instructors to deliver a curriculum based around adult learner’s real lives. Most beneficiaries speak Tamazight as their native language, while the official curriculum is in Modern Standard Arabic; instructors developed an agile bilingual method that has proven highly effective in helping women grasp the complex syntax and gain multi-linguistic confidence simultaneously.

By May 2025, 55 women across the three cooperatives were enrolled, with instructors consistently devoting time to the program because, as they expressed, literacy is an investment in the future of their communities.

The curriculum extends well beyond basic reading and writing. Through specially designed artisanal workbooks, participants are learning to read medical prescriptions, calculate household expenses, manage cooperative bookkeeping, and sign official documents independently. At the Zarbiat Achbarou Cooperative, approximately 10 young women who had dropped out of school are now taking part in a targeted English language program, receiving workbooks, bilingual dictionaries, and English storytelling books through a peer-led seminar format designed to build public speaking confidence and prepare them to communicate directly with the international visitors the cooperative regularly receives.

Voices From the Field

Latifa, a literacy instructor and seamstress at Timiyourine Nissae Tinmel, observed what the combination of sewing and literacy has done for participants:

“Through practice, teamwork, and continuous guidance, their work gradually improved in quality and precision. Over time, they became more confident and independent…This experience shows the value of combining literacy with practical activities to strengthen women’s skills, confidence, and future opportunities.”

Fatima, a member of Tifawt Ouidraren Cooperative, overcame poor eyesight that initially prevented her from operating a sewing machine. Rather than accepting this limitation, she sought medical assistance and obtained corrective glasses.

“I wanted to sew like everyone else, but my eyesight made it impossible. I decided to visit the doctor and get glasses because I did not want to give up. Now I can sew the bags myself, and I feel proud every time I complete one.”

Looking Ahead

This reporting period shows how strong and determined the women in these cooperatives truly are. Even though production had to pause to fix the fabric, this time was used to help the women grow even more. They didn’t stop learning. Instead, they improved their sewing skills and gained life-changing literacy and English tools.

Next steps will include purchasing and testing the improved fabric, resuming full cooperative production, and continuing to support the older women learning to read and write and the younger girls that are deepening their English.

HAF extends our deepest gratitude to the JDC for standing by us and supporting these women. Together, we are helping rural Moroccan women build an independent future for themselves, their families, and their communities.