By Hajiba Boumasmar, HAF Program Coordinator Our country is full of history and cultures that connect between two communities, those of Moroccan Muslims and Moroccan Jews. We work together, constantly trying to preserve our culture so that it is not lost to new developments the world over. I want to share my experience at the

The Importance of Plants in Religious Art, San Diego Jewish World. By Prof. Ellen Hernandez MARRAKECH, Morocco — What is the message conveyed by the representation of plants in religious text? What do the images that these references bring to our minds tell us about a people and a society? These are questions posed by

By Said Bennani, HAF Project Manager and HAF Team HAF Project Manager Said Bennani, Driver Abdelghani Kastih, and volunteer Youssef Tahri, all visited the Tadmamt and Akrich nurseries on June 3, 2021, to start off an insightful visit and viewing of the communities. The first stop was in Tadmamt, where they met assistant nursery caretaker

Mimouna, Women, and Morocco’s Creative Cultural Diversity, Morocco World News, By Shivani Lakshman  HAF-UVA Intern. By Shivani Lakshman HAF-UVA Intern On Tuesday, April 6, the Mimouna Association hosted a virtual event titled “Celebrating Mimouna: From a Feminine Perspective.” The Mimouna Association is a non-profit founded in 2007 by Muslim students aiming to promote and preserve

By Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir, HAF President On Friday, March 26, 2021, Cadi Ayyad University (UCA) President Professor Moulay Lhassan Hbid and myself, HAF’s President Yossef Ben-Meir, signed a partnership agreement at the Wilaya of Marrakech-Safi. Also in attendance were Dr. Driss Ouaouicha, the Minister Delegate in charge of Higher Education in Morocco, and the Wali

Written by Hajar Toufik, Journalist, in Arabic Translated into English by Kaoutar Ait Lahaj, HAF Program Coordinator The High Atlas Foundation (HAF) continues to develop its projects relating to the creation of organic tree nurseries by using the arable land belonging to the Moroccan Jewish community.  Nearly ten years ago, the High Atlas Foundation (HAF),

Written by Tahi Wiggins and derived from a presentation by Hudson Ferris, hosted by NCheng LLP With the massive economic trauma brought on by the covid-19 pandemic, one may expect that charitable giving would have taken a similar downturn. However, such was not the case. Although the beginning of the pandemic saw an 8% dip

Bezawit Mesfin Bogale HAF-UVA Intern  Trees play a vital role in preserving the environment for generations. The environment is key for survival in terms of not only health but also association with one another in our community. It is known that trees give off oxygen, reduce the amount of stormwater, provide natural habitat, and contribute

Ian MacPherson HAF UVa Student Intern Nov 5, 2018—  High Atlas Foundation facilitates a women’s IMAGINE workshop adapted for Moroccan cultural and religious practices. Deep relationships maintained over time and a global scope at a local scale characterize the participatory approach to development. Methods grouped under the umbrella of participation vary widely, and are formed

By Zineb Laadam Farmer-to-Farmer, Morocco Despite weakening bodies, with grey hair and clenched faces, these people are still closely committed to their work with all dedication and sincerity. Time has not weakened their spirits. Heaven did not bury them but rather made them warriors in the field. They love nature, and it loves them back.

Sanae Benaadim HAF Office Manager and Volunteer Coordinator. Water is one of the most important resource management aspects that integrates the notion of sustainability in Morocco.The High Atlas Foundation is focused on spreading and strengthening sustainable development in Moroccan communities through several big and small projects.There are nexus cycles between three main elements/keys of life,

Kaoutar Ait Lahaj Program Coordinator The participants of the International Women’s Day Webinar. On the 8th of March, the US Embassy of Israel hosted a webinar entitled “International Women’s Day: The Middle East & The Abraham Accords” in partnership with the UAE Embassy in Washington, DC, The Embassy of Bahrain, and the Embassy of Morocco.

This International Women’s Day, the High Atlas Foundation team celebrates all women, women leaders, women who are working to create a more equal future in spite of this current context in which we live -- a context in which deep-seated gender inequalities have exacerbated the consequences of the pandemic for women and girls around the

Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir, Katie Bercegeay, and Sofia Ashooh A mother language is the language of the heart. This Mother Language Day the High Atlas Foundation celebrates the people of Morocco and recognizes the importance of human connection and understanding to achieve sustainable development. We are able to express ourselves in our mother language unlike any

Meet Hajiba Boumasmar, Program Coordinator of the High Atlas Foundation, freskincare. The High Atlas Foundation The High Atlas Foundation (HAF) is an American-Moroccan nonprofit that focuses on different areas: youth, women, water, capacity building, cuture, and agriculture. HAF’s work in the agricultural sector includes building tree nurseries, planting seeds, planting and distributing saplings and monitoring tree growth. HAF

Morocco at a Crossroads: The Time Is Now, Qwenu, By Yossef Ben-Meir and Ellen Hernandez. Harnessing the experiences and the history of religious and ethnic minorities in Morocco must be a priority before the holders of that knowledge are lost to time. Moroccan-based civil associations, with the right support, are in an ideal position to gather

Multiculturalisme et Unité : une alchimie dont le Maroc a le secret, Libération, Par Yossef Ben-Meir et Kati Roumani. Arabic version HOUSE OF LIFE est une initiative agricole innovante dont les implications sont profondes et ont un écho avec l’actualité mondiale. La particularité du programme réside dans son aspect interculturel. HOUSE OF LIFE organise le prêt

President of the High Atlas Foundation The guiding principle of the High Atlas Foundation over its life of twenty years has remained fixed: sustainability is a function of people’s control over the development that improves their lives. Projects by and for local communities are what is sustainable. This principle has always been both our heartbeat

– A Model To Achieve The Model For Development In Morocco, By Yossef Ben-Meir (HAF President). Arabic: Al-Watan Voice, 23 Juin 2020. French version There may be irony in Morocco now reconsidering and revamping its development model, which is its national guiding frameworks for social and environmental fulfillment. I have long been and remain a believer

Hope Growing in the Cradle of Diaspora, Media for Freedom. • French: World News, 11 April 2020. Meandering through the dusty foothills of the Moroccan Atlas Mountains, I played an earnest game of speculation. I knew of my destination, its history and constitution, but had yet to see it or feel the restless potential it encapsulated. The

HAF Volunteer An HAF delegation went on February 4th to Demnate, small city in the Azilal province, to the east of Marrakech. The aim of this day trip was to create, in the near future, a tree nursery that could grow up to 100,000 saplings. Demnate, whose population used to be one-third comprised of Jewish

By Nora Martetschläger HAF Intern Last week, I had the chance to experience part of developing our new HAF tree nursery. Together with my colleagues Amina and Said, I traveled around 200 kilometers from Marrakech to Ourzazarte, to meet relevant stakeholders of the new project at the governor’s office. The new HAF nursery will be

Dear Friend, We at the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) wish you a happy end of year and a fulfilling year ahead This Newsletter is an expression of our appreciation for the students from the University of Virginia (UVA) and elsewhere who spent the last two summers with us and will hopefully join us for summers

Dear Friend, There are fantastic reasons to give today to the High Atlas Foundation in Morocco: Women’s empowerment and girls’ education uplift our life’s fabric and are absolutely real outcomes of our work with families and communities. Fruit tree agriculture, building cooperatives, certifying organic, and processing food products for local and global sales form a

HAF intern Last week I got the chance to take part in some of the program of the Alumni Seminar. From the 6th to the 10th of the November, 55 youth from all over Morocco who participated in the different U.S. Embassy exchange programs met at the Hotel Dar Atlas in Marrakech to share their

By: HAJIBA BOUMASMAR HAF Intern I had the honor of attending; with Mr. Hassan Aladlouni –National Director at the High Atlas Foundation-; the ceremony of the signing of a partnership between the Jewish and Muslim communities in Morocco. This partnership aims to organize the first session of the Marrakech International Symposium of Sainthood and Behavior.

By Imane Akhezzane HAF Project Manager United with a common purpose and with the best interest of the Moroccan community at heart, board members of the High Atlas Foundation, its founding President, Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir, and guests had the opportunity to meet during a fundraising ceremony at Villa Sbihi in Salé, on Saturday October 19,

By Camelia Harkousse HAF Intern What a better way to connect with your roots and Moroccan-ity than celebrating Eid al-Adha with Moroccan Amazighs in the High Atlas Mountains? Eid al-Adha is one of the most important religious celebrations in Morocco and how it’s called here is a great indicator of that; “Eid Makourne” (Eid al-Kebir)

By Yaniv Teitel HAF Intern, graduate student at the Glocal program I got the chance to join HAF’s Farmer-to-Farmer staff on their first meeting with the Pomegranate Cooperative at Awlad Abdallah. Farmer-to-Farmer is a capacity-building program that HAF is conducting in rural areas in Morocco as part of a partnership with USAID. It was a

By Fatima ZAHRA LAHRIRE HAF Volunteer In order to promote and preserve the multicultural past that Morocco is known by, HAF has taken immediate action in partnership with local communities. These actions aim to protect the endemic tolerance and peace in Morocco and the long coexistence between the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities. The mission