Multicultural Partners Planting Trees in Africa

Due to the success of the community tree nursery on arable land lent by the Jewish Community of Marrakech, located near the village of Akraich in the Al Haouz province, the Moroccan Jewish community has lent an additional four parcels of land for nurseries.  Three of the added parcels are in the Al Haouz province, and the fourth is located in the Azilal province.  The High Atlas Foundation is also developing a partnership with the Moroccan Jewish Community of Casablanca in order to build a community tree nursery on their land located in the region of Ourzazate.

Larbi Didouqen, the co-Vice President of High Atlas Foundation aids in the management of one of these nurseries in Akraich. Recently, trees have been planted in the primary school, specifically eucalyptus, fig, and pomegranate trees. These fruit and medicinal trees not only combat deforestation and desertification, aiding in environmental sustainability, but they also provide added sources of income for the rural community in Akraich.

Because of this especially hot & dry summer, a local development association offered to assist in irrigation for this nursery. Generally, the well is sufficient throughout the year, but this sunny and hot summer proved the need for assistance. A special thanks goes to this association, for without their help with irrigation and materials, the nursery would have suffered.

These projects alleviate rural poverty by providing fruit trees that grow organically, while also building productive partnerships among Morocco's ethnic and religious groups.

The Akraich community nursery—consisting of trees planted on Jewish land that will later be distributed to impoverished rural communities—simultaneously helps to undermine subsistence farming while building interfaith relationships. These exchanges are vital to the health of a community as they both promote trust between the Moroccan Jews and Muslim, as well as encourage environmental stewardship. Connected to the Akraich project, HAF recently brought clean water to the nursery’s neighboring elementary School. While HAF supplied the 8000m of piping needed to connect the school to the nearest clean water source, the actual labor to install these materials was provided by the Akraich community. The community nursery as well as this water sanitation project each capture the collaborative and generous spirit of the Moroccan people.

As the two year mark of the Akraich community nursery approaches the next stage, targeted for January 2015, involves transplanting these saplings to private orchards.  Accompanying this transfer, local farmers will continue to be trained in the technical skills needed to care for the trees.  Through educating farmers and raising awareness regarding the importance of environmental preservation, the project forges a pathway for sustainable development.  

Thanks to your continued support, HAF has been able to increase the scale of this project and reach a wider population, as well as unite diverse communities via their common interest of building a stronger Morocco.