Participatory workshop with a women's cooperative in Essaouira, Morocco.
High Atlas Foundation
Capacity Building for Value Adding
Training in community advocacy with civil society organizations in Taounate, Morocco.
High Atlas Foundation
Participatory workshop with a women's cooperative in Essaouira, Morocco.
High Atlas Foundation
A women's cooperative participating in an agricultural training in Akrich, Morocco.
High Atlas Foundation
HAF is dedicated to the capacity building of community and cooperative members, especially in natural resource management and participatory decision-making among people who understand their local environment best. HAF provides consultancy and capacity-building workshops to achieve value added processing and marketing of agricultural products by the growing communities and their cooperatives. HAF does not control or own the raw or processed products, the farmers do, but this activity is an indirect and significant local income benefit that yields high quality and quantity product standard. Examples include supporting a cooperative in blanching almonds produced by their trees, developing a business plan for value-added walnut processing, and organic certification.
Moroccan policy such as the COVID-19 economic recovery plan and the Green Plan highlights agricultural development which has encouraged cultivation of unproductive areas. Social conditions and economic opportunities - coupled with a sense of necessity, if not urgency, - are such that Morocco’s agricultural economy has outstanding potential. With strategic local community investments in implementing farm-to-fork initiatives, it can become the financial engine to build capacity in all areas.
It is essential to address challenges along the value chain facing producers, and to invest in value addition activities in processing and marketing, not just planting trees. By examining the entire value chain and developing a holistic approach to solving problems, HAF and local communities can more effectively increase profit for Moroccan farmers and reduce pressure on landfills.