Plant Trees to Empower Farming Families in Morocco

Project assistant Hassan, volunteer Mohammed, and project manager Said traveled to Ouarzazate to meet local associations, cooperatives, and community members to talk about the new fruit tree nursery that is in partnership with the Moroccan Jewish community, National Initiative for Human Development, the provincial governor's office and other public agencies. We planned the implementation of the nursery with the local community. They decided the tree varities they want to grow and discussed their working together with local partners to make this project successful.  We started our meeting in the afternoon - women, men, and youth all together. Thirty-two people represented the local villages in the region of the nursery. Most of the farmers expressed that their fruit tree priorities are almond, walnut, cherry, and fig. The meeting was very positive and the people look forward to digging to build the new nursery on land nearby the Hebrew saint ''David Ou Moche''.

With USAID Farmer-to-Famer Volunteer Anne, we had a four hour meeting with the members of Oulad Abdellah pomegranate cooperative in Beni Mellal and local farmers. Anne collected needed information toward the development of a business plan to produce pomegranate juice, as well as discussed with the cooperative members their visions for future growth and roles. The meeting also helped strengthen the relation between larger growers in the area and the coopertive's members, who continue to consider ways they can enhance their collaboration. Together, we also visited the pomegranate festival, which allowed us to get a clear idea about pricing to help support the business plan.

The High Atlas Foundation met 20 Salaam Fellows of the Open Hands Initiative who are from the U.S.A and Morocco. They came together in Morocco to build understanding and capacities around conflict resolution and gain real-world understanding of managing different interests toward sustainable reconciliation and development. Amina, HAF's projects director, and Errachid, HAF's project manager of the F2F USAID program, presented HAF's major programs to advance its sustainable development mission in Morocco, through facilitating participatory community planning and assisting in implementing priority projects in agriculture, health, education and empowerment. Later during their stay in Moroccon, the 20 fellows visited two project sites in the Ourika Valley, and met with community and cooperative members to hear from them about their experiences, challenges, and initiatives going forward.  Thank you, Kelly Fitzsimmons Photography, for the photos.

I had the pleasure of accompanying Said, HAF Project Manager; Hassan, an assistant; and Tobi, a teacher at United World Colleges, on two nursery visits in the Marrakech region. As someone who has always been passionate about agriculture and the environment, the nursery visits had a positive impact on my choosing the High Atlas Foundation to continue my professional career, after obtaining a master’s degree in biotechnology and sustainable development of agro-resources.

The Imegdal nursery is under the supervision of Hassan, a skilled technician also competent in the manufacture of compost made from hay and manure. Hassan spoke to us about transplanting the tree saplings and watering techniques. This nursery - initially funded by the Global Diversity Foundation and the Darwin Initiative - includes several types of plants such as: argan, carob, cherry, almond, and walnut because of its agricultural, economic, environmental, and health importance. Additionally, the High Atlas Foundation wants to protect the agricultural heritage of Morocco and provide a sustainable environment for the growth and development of these plants. Further, these varieties keep the soil fertile while avoiding the use of chemical fertilizers that cause adverse effects both on the quality and health of groundwater.

The Tadmamt nursery is the result of a partnership between Morocco’s office of High Waters and Forests and the High Atlas Foundation for tree planting; its initial funding came from the United Nations Development Program. This nursery, which mainly cultivates almonds, cherries, and walnuts, is under the supervision of Omar. Daily maintenance of the nursery organized by Omar, as well as the grafting technique utilized here, is the best solution to ensuring high quality fruit and profitability of crops.

These nurseries contribute substantially to the sustainable development of local areas. Specifically, they provide a significant number of carob, argan, and walnut plants throughout the year to the inhabitants of the region including landowners and farmers as well as new and old agricultural cooperatives. Ultimately, the nurseries help local communities, particularly those involved in agricultural activities, while keeping our agro-resources.