Grow Trees and Offset Carbon with African Farmers

On July 27-28, a HAF team composed of Field Technician Abdeljalil, driver Mustapha, and I hit the road to Taroudant Province for the distribution of food and hygiene materials, a project implemented in partnership with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy as an act of social solidarity with people who have been severely impacted, economically and socially, by the repercussions of COVID-19.

Indeed, COVID-19 has harshly impacted the Moroccan economy since the beginning of the pandemic and subsequent lockdown in March, and many businesses have been unable to endure in the meantime. This has also led to a severe social impact and increase in unemployment around the country. Moreover, the two consecutive years of drought have severely impacted most agricultural regions in Morocco, and Taroudant province is one of them.

For these reasons, Taroudant province was chosen as one of the locations to benefit from the distribution of basic supplies in late July. The distribution benefited 95 families in three villages: Tassosfi, Adare, and Wizlane.

It was not the first time that I participated in a food distribution, but this is the one that touched me the most. As I called the names of each beneficiary, I saw the villagers passing in front of me, extremely excited and happy, and coming from all over the village. They shyly took their bags of basic supplies and food and thanked us with all of the most beautiful expressions that can be uttered in the Amazigh and Arabic languages. We ourselves were extremely pleased to have brought these people who live in extreme poverty a little joy.

Thanks to the assistance of local authorities, the distribution was successful, and importantly, health safety measures such as social distancing, wearing masks, hand washing, and sanitization were respected by all in attendance.

Last but not least, and as I always say, the most beautiful reward for us, as HAF’s field coordinators, is the smile of people and the beautiful landscape that surrounds us. This will only keep us more optimistic about a bright future in this world.