Plant Organic Fruit Trees with African Farmers

As we find our way coming out of Ramadan and Aïd Mubarak celebrations, we are starting to prepare for planting season 2017. One of the project’s focus is the building of a community-managed tree and medicinal herb nursery in Tadmamt of the Asni Commune of the Al Haouz Province, a total of 6,000 people in 30 villages also effecting Asni, Oukaimeden, and Ourika. This beautiful region of villages sits on the northern side of Morocco’s oldest nature protected area, the Toubkal National Forest; a vibrant area of pasturelands for goat and sheep herds and a large plethora of indigenous species of vegetation.

This project of building fruit tree and medicinal herb nurseries was designed to include the community and to ensure its lifelong success and viability to the individuals profiting from it. The trees and herbs in question do not need the use of pesticides, they have a high market value, and the people maintaining them already possess the skills to maintain and market the fruit produced.

To paint a picture of the social context, the villages of the High Atlas region rank among the poorest in all Morocco. The lack of, to little, infrastructure has left communities with little presence of government institutions and services in the area. And eighty-five percent of rural households earn less than the national average and nearly eighty percent of rural economies in Morocco are supported by agricultural production. Projects like these diversify the rural economy, create employment, and help diversify diets by contributing to public health initiatives from the consumption of fruit.

Generous contributions to this unique project ensure key institutions that will support their development, culminate relationships among the local populations, and provide work across seasons. Thank you to all supporters of this project. We have made significant progress and we are excited of what is to come. Stay tuned! And until next time.