By Abderrahim Ouarghidi, HAF’s Project and Training Manager

Abderrahim in the Tifnoute NurseryTifnout’s 2010 Nursery of 60,000 Cherry and Walnut Saplings: After spending several months of intense work collecting and purchasing 60,000 healthy cherry and walnut trees, we faced another 4 months of stress and concern because the local variety of walnut requires a great deal of attention due to its sensitivity to growing conditions . At first, I was anxious and a bit dubious about the community workers' competency, but by the first week of July, my concerns had dissolved. Wow! Wonderful! I was amazed and dazzled by the quality of their work. In the nursery, the healthy smell of earth and growing plants is dense in the air, made even more intense by the beautiful bright and dark greens. It is here in this place that you can feel the joy and peace of all who work with the plants. It reminded me of the henna party of my aunt when I was a child, and I have a memory of this beautiful green that is symbol of happiness, celebration and fertility. It seems truly magical.

The achievement is a success not only for the communities, local technicians, donors, and all the partners, but also for the participatory process adopted by HAF. Our next amazement will come when the trees we've planted finally produce the wonderful sweet bright red cherries and oily green walnuts. The fruits of all that labor and growth will in turn help the widows, orphans, needy and kids from the local community by raising their income, helping them to keep their hope in life.

View photo’s of the Tifnoute fruit tree nursery here.