Plant Organic Fruit Trees with African Farmers

From 2024 to 2026, the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) and local community partners planted 156,763 fruit trees across Guelmim, Sidi Ifni, and Tan-Tan provinces and 18 communes, including 633 farming families, and 38 schools.  

The planted varieties consisted of the following tree species:

• Olive: 88,955 trees
• Carob: 23,597 trees
• Pomegranate: 17,827 trees
• Fig: 16,712 trees
• Almond: 9,672 trees

In addition, HAF implemented women’s empowerment and leadership initiatives in two southern regions of Morocco–Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra and Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab–with a focus on strengthening women’s confidence, leadership, collective action, participation in decision-making, and capacity to advocate for their priorities. 

HAF began its work in the Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra Region in 2012, with a particular focus on Boujdour Province, where it conducted women’s empowerment workshops in 2017, reaching a total of 87 women.The workshops provided women with participatory spaces to strengthen self-awareness, confidence, communication, decision-making, and their ability to identify and pursue opportunities for personal and community development. 

HAF subsequently extended its empowerment work to Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab, engaging women across nomadic, rural, and urban communities, including nomadic women in Bir Anzarane, rural women in Bir Gandouz, and women in the urban commune of Dakhla. Through these initiatives, 90 women were empowered, with 50 women subsequently organizing themselves into a cooperative, demonstrating how individual empowerment could translate into collective organization and economic action. 

A significant example of HAF’s women’s leadership work took place in Bir Gandouz, Aousserd Province. Beginning in October 2022, HAF supported a participatory empowerment process through which rural women identified their limited participation in community decision-making as a priority. Through capacity-building in leadership, conflict resolution, collective action, strategic planning, and advocacy, the women strengthened their confidence and developed practical skills to organize collectively and engage with local authorities. 

As an outcome of this process, five women’s cooperatives joined together to establish the Tidarguit Tasamoh Alliance, bringing together 25 rural women. The Alliance provided a collective platform through which women could articulate their priorities, advocate for their rights and interests, engage with local authorities, and participate more actively in local development processes. 

The women subsequently engaged directly with government authorities and developed collective plans, including for the management of a space dedicated to cooperative production of couscous. As part of their advocacy and leadership efforts, the Alliance organized seven community forums, facilitating dialogue between women and local decision-makers on priority concerns, including access to basic services and healthcare. The Alliance also participated in the International Exhibition of Local Products in Guelmim Province, where it was the only alliance from Aousserd Province represented, providing women with an additional platform to demonstrate their collective leadership and visibility. 

In parallel, HAF supported the Gara Fok Gara Alliance, bringing together representatives of the Saharan nomadic community in Aousserd. Through training in advocacy strategies, participatory approaches, and facilitated dialogue, participants strengthened their ability to identify community priorities and communicate them collectively to local authorities. This process enabled the Alliance to submit an advocacy letter to the regional council addressing community concerns, including water scarcity and the preservation of cultural heritage. 

Overall, HAF’s women’s empowerment and leadership work in Morocco's southern regions has supported women to move from individual empowerment to collective leadership and civic participation. Through empowerment workshops, leadership development, cooperative organization, alliances, advocacy, and engagement with local authorities, women have strengthened their confidence and voice, organized around shared priorities, and taken increasingly active roles in decision-making and community development.