Clean Drinking Water for 1250 Villagers in Morocco

In Morocco, seventy percent of rural communities lack accessibility to clean drinking water. This shortage is a huge burden on communities—particularly on women and girls who often are the ones fetching water—contributing to high infant mortality rates, shortening their lifespan, and stunting potential community development. Communities lack the institutional and organizational capacities to collaborate with government agencies or NGO’s to address this problem. HAF, through providing the necessary infrastructure, partners with these communities to bring sustainable change. Beyond providing clean drinking water sources, communities need to be educated on water sanitation as means to ensure these new water sources stay uncontaminated .Through training community members in water sanitation management and conducting community workshops related to personal hygiene, HAF promotes durable development.

This water sanitation project, which targets the relatively isolated Toubkal province in the High Atlas Mountains, has made notable progress. In the past five months we have installed two potable water basins brining clean water to new communities. Additionally we have been able to install new water irrigation systems, which are equally important to sustaining a major part of communities’ livelihood—fruit trees or medicinal plants. These irrigation systems promote community development through improving individual households’ incomes. Thanks to your generous support we have been able to make noticeable headway in providing communities with vital infrastructural support. 

The High Atlas Foundation has partnered with communities in the Tifnoute Valley and in the Ouirgane Commune to design community development projects based upon the needs identified by community members.  HAF relies upon a participatory development approach to human development, in which trainers empower the community to identify, develop and management projects to increase household incomes.

In time for World Water Day on March 22nd, the communities of the Tifnoute Valley and in the Ouirgane Commune have designed new land and water management systems, which will provide clean drinking water, create land terraces to expand viable land for planting, and spread knowledge about climate change challenges and share best practices for environmental conservation.  These trainings will be underscored with capacity building and other tools that allow communities to respond to socioeconomic challenges.

These projects make way for the planting of new tree nurseries to increase household incomes.  Your support helps HAF to deliver training and increase capacities of Morocco’s most remote villages. Thank you for delivering skills and trainings to the families of the Tifnoute Valley and in the Ouirgane Commune.