Grow Trees and Offset Carbon with African Farmers

Dear Friends and Supporters,

As May winds down, we have some wonderful updates to share with you. Yesterday, our office officially welcomed the 2026 University of Virginia student group: 12 enthusiastic students who wasted no time getting hands-on experience with Moroccan communities.

True to the spirit of our work, the group didn’t stay inside the office for long. After brief introductions, the students set off on a field visit that gave them the immediate, grounded sense of what we do and who we serve.

True to the spirit of our work, the group didn’t stay inside the office for long. After brief introductions, the students set off on a field visit that gave them the immediate, grounded sense of what we do and who we serve.

Sustainable Agriculture in Action

The first stop of the day brought the group to a tree nursery that has been in caretaker Omar’s family for generations, a living example of how environmental stewardship and water infrastructure come together. Students had the change to see firsthand how thoughtful irrigation and community-maintained water systems support reforestation and sustainable land use.

Livelihoods from Empowerment 

From the nursery, the group traveled to meet with a local women’s cooperative in Talat-N-Mimoun, one of the most meaningful exchanges of the day. The students listened, asked questions, and learned from the women about their work, challenges, and hopes for the future. It was exactly the kind of human connection that no classroom can replicate.

First Impressions...  

Hear from some of the students about the impact of their very first day:

"The day we spent around Talat-N-Mimoun has set a powerful precedent for the time we UVA interns will spend in Morocco with HAF. We met a community in midst of addressing some of their highest priorities, such as water access for agriculture, self-sufficient power, women's empowerment and literacy, and education.

We heard from residents, women's cooperatives members, construction workers, beekeepers, farmers, and educational faculty about enduring concerns, and we were also able to celebrate daily life with extraordinarily generous food (delicious tagine and local honey) and music shared by the women.  

What sustains these partnerships is not just collaborative solution-making, but also relationships sustained by asking respectful questions, repeated engagement, enthusiasm, and listening.

At the women's cooperative, we started to respond to their music with music of our own, singing 'The Good Old Song' of UVA, and later, during more singing, everyone began standing and dancing with each other- students, women, and children. I am seeing that this reciprocity and mutual engagement is an important part of avoiding aestheticization and being able to interact meaningfully and in a self-aware way." - Coco Ahn

"Coming to Marrakech from the United States was a journey in and of itself -- despite what many would consider a tiring travel, however, we were nonetheless excited and eager to begin our work with HAF. Of course, this would not be possible without the overwhelming acceptance and welcoming nature of the HAF staff. This was immediately apparent on our first full day in Marrakech with HAF -- while on our first community visit outside of Marrakech, HAF staff could not have done more to help us adjust to the environment while still having a fulfilling experience. 

One particularly engaging experience was having our questions to locals translated from English to Arabic so that we could learn about the day in the life of those who managed local agriculture and irrigation facilities. Together, we talked about our meals throughout the past day, the types of crops grown in and around the Ourika river, and the work that goes into building a well. This would not have otherwise been possible without the HAF staff -- seeing as the majority of us don’t speak Arabic! 

When coming to Morocco, I most hoped to get ‘off the beaten path,’ out of the city, and into communities where global development work was most felt. This was easily accomplished during our visit where we visited a well that HAF had sponsored, a irrigation reservoir, a farm outside the Ourika Valley, and a women’s cooperative that was bustling with community members of all ages. I am certain that more experiences like this will follow and am eager to keep seeing what the Marrakech region has to offer!" - Griffin Franzese 

Looking Back at Success
The day ended as the best days in the field often do: with joy. The cooperative welcomed the group with singing and dancing, a send-off that left everyone with full hearts.

This welcome is made all the more meaningful by the remarkable legacy of UVA cohorts before this year’s group. Year after year, students from this partnership have gone beyond expectation, producing original research, community assessments, and field reports that have directly shaped our programming and contributed to the broader conversation on sustainable development. 

With a track record like that, we can’t wait to see what the class of 2026 brings. We have every confidence they will achieve high success.

We are thrilled to have the UVA 2026 cohort with us this season. Stay tuned for more updates as their work unfolds. 

Sincerely,

The High Atlas Foundation Team