By Noah Schrott-Schubert | HAF Intern, Austria Service Abroad
On Monday, the 20th of January 2025, the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) engaged in one of the most important events of the year: the national tree planting day.
A total of more than 15 groups, three to six members each, headed out to various parts of the country to support rural and urban communities through tree planting.
Long-time HAF Colleague Didoquen’s group, consisting of five staff and Intern members, aimed to plant 25 trees by the end of the day in the Beni Bataou municipality located in the Khouribga province.
Here is my story about the day.
On a crisp January morning, at 6.30 CET, Larbi, Youssef, and Hassan picked me up at the Marrakech train station.
When Karam joined us, the space in the car became quite limited. On this day, comfort was the opportunity cost of success.
On our four hour ride to the village, we stopped only once to have breakfast. When we arrived in Beni Bataou at about 13.00 CET, we were warmly welcomed by the local community.
A group of five men gave us a tour through the community centre, showing us almost every room.
The community centre is called “la Maison Familiale Rurale (MFR)”. As the name already suggests, this centre is mainly visited by rural/farming families.
Precisely, sons and daughters of farmers, aged between 18 and 22, who left school early and are now striving for careers in the agricultural sector.
La Maison Familiale Rurale offers the unique opportunity for 75 yearly attendees to acquire valuable skills in how to manage their land properly.
Once we had been introduced to the centre and its facilities, we had the honour to present ourselves in front of 25 current attendees.
Mr. Didouquen soon took the lead and held a presentation about the mission of the High Atlas Foundation.
He explained in detail what carbon offsetting means, and how Moroccan farmers can earn their share by planting trees.
The silence in the room was breath-taking, as it was a testimony to how interested the audience was.
But what had happened in this hall was no typical lecture, as approximately every few minutes a question was asked, which was not only answered, but discussed until fully resolved.
The High Atlas Foundation, an NGO, which values dialogue and exchange of ideas very highly, once again demonstrated that it acts according to its values.
But finally, this blog shall answer the question- can this trip be labelled a success-story? And although success even for an organisation like HAF dedicated to community tree planting cannot be measured in the sheer number of trees planted, one can say yes, this trip was a full success story.
Because once the session had finished, 25 future farmers had a bright smile on their face, and everybody collectively engaged in turning a deserted garden into a green fruit-tree oasis.
In numbers, one group of High Atlas Foundation members, in one day, planted 25 trees, sequestering carbon dioxide and thus battling climate change, while also providing a local community with financial opportunities through fruit and olive yield.
However, what may be even more vital, HAF added one more brick to the pillar of sustainable development in rural Morocco, by encouraging local communities to be part of the carbon offsetting program.
By Mariam Ait Hfid | Program coordinator
By Yossef Ben-Meir | President
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