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The girls from the Lalla Aouda Saadia school are proud of their emerging garden! They are dreaming of cultivating an even greater diversity of edible and ornamental plants in the beautiful green spaces that are already affording them some peace of mind and moments of tranquility.   

When asked what should be the next steps, they reply in unison that they would like to see more vegetation in the empty spaces in between the orchard trees. They are keen to participate in the work it will take to finish the garden: planting aromatic herbs and flowers, weeding, painting the new benches and organizing bins for composting, and recycling at specific points on the grounds.

GDF’s project director Mohamed El Haouzi has the merit of possessing enormous faith and tenacity, qualities that allow him to love his job and believe in it passionately. Over the past four years, he has worked hard to change the forlorn landscape of this unique girls-only college in Marrakech. The school’s garden, which was a large open space littered with trash, has gone from a neglected shambles to an actual garden. Although the process has been long and onerous, there is very little left for the job to reach a successful conclusion.

Mohamed has thought out his approach carefully, creating large pathways covered with gravel to clearly define the boundaries between the garden and the walking areas. Following the advice of a landscaper friend, he has made a point of enlarging the gravel areas to delimit the green areas, and consequently decrease both the use of water and maintenance while creating more space for the girls to mingle. The Seville orange trees spread evenly throughout the garden have been duly pruned to insure that they continue growing high and strong. Eight benches have been added to give the girls moments of peace in shaded areas. Mohamed has even taken his job to another level, guiding an ethnobotanical study of local useful plants with 30 girls from the school, during which they collected specific herbs to concoct five traditional recipes to treat diverse ailments.

These steps have been possible thanks to the support of the Global Diversity Foundation. Already the girls can be seen sitting on the benches gazing pensively at the trees, waiting for the opportunity to put edible and ornamental plants in the ground and watch them grow and produce...