Multicultural Partners Planting Trees in Africa

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. 

On January 16, 2014 the High Atlas Foundation celebrated the planting of one million trees by planting on 43 sites all over Morocco.  The tree nursery in Akraich was a special site where Muslim and Jewish communities came together to break ground and cultivate trees in the spirit of openness that has characterized Morocco’s unique history of multicultural cohabitation.  The Akraich nursery is build on land owned by Marrakech’s Jewish community and is an important pilgrimage site where the Jewish saint Raphael HaCohen is buried.

Marrakech’s Jewish community leaders came together with the Muslim villagers of Akraich to share lunch and discuss the importance of the tree planting thorughout Morocco, and the interfaith partnerships that support this goal. The Akraich partnership, initiated by HAF and made possible by your support of the project, gives rural community members access to agricultural training and increased income through the planting of fruit and nut trees.  

Your generous contributions to HAF and the communities of rural Morocco further the goal of sustainability, which can only be achieved through widespread collaboration and engagement of various partners that allow integration of support networks.  HAF spreads it roots wide and sows them deep. 1,000,000 trees are accompanied by many long, deep roots, which support each other and converge for mutual development.