This program empowers rural farming communities to diversify their crops by planting organic, native fruit trees. We raise the trees in community nurseries in the four bio-zones of Morocco and transplant them with farming families, cooperatives, and education centers. We also monitor the trees to help ensure success and to generate carbon offset credits.
Rural Moroccan people are approximately 34% of the country's population, and 75% of rural households earn less than the national average. One major reason for this condition is that farming families primarily cultivate barley and corn, which are planted on more than 70% of agricultural land, yet account for only 10-15% of agricultural revenue. As the climate crisis worsens, our social and agricultural problems are exacerbated. Erosion, desertification, and drought pose significant challenges.
Tree nurseries are valuable for Moroccan farming communities. Fruit tree cultivation allows farmers to transition from less lucrative barley and corn and generate greater income. HAF is a catalyst in using carbon offset credits to support its partners' sustainability goals. By doing so, and in training community and members of women's cooperatives to manage nurseries and related activities, the sustainable impact of HAF's program is increased substantially. Each tree HAF plants is monitored.
The financially sustainable nurseries will include the 14 varieties of fruit that grow organically in Morocco. All yields belong entirely to the farmers. One farmer stated:"If I counted everything together and sold all the barley and corn without keeping anything for myself, I only gained $53 a year. A few years after the foundation gave me trees I was able to sell the fruits for $528 to $1,055 depending on how much my trees produced. With the income generated, I improved my family's life."
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
