Perma Atlas Initiative
The low Atlas Mountain area in Morocco is dry and arid, with very few trees outside of the river valleys. Prolonged periods of drought, flooding, and erosion of the mountain slopes have severely impacted the land over the last several years. The landscape has become extremely degraded, which has caused severe issues for agriculture. Unsustainable agricultural techniques have worsened these problems.
Perma Atlas
Anguelz, Telouet, Atlas Mountains, Morocco
In 2014, the village of Angulez experienced devastating floods that further degraded the farmlands. As a result, the youth is driven away to pursue more stable futures elsewhere. The Perma Atlas project is working to restore and recover the valley and slopes back to being green. By providing local communities and farmers with sustainable techniques such as permaculture, the High Atlas Mountains’ ecosystem can be recovered. With the use of kitchen gardens, gabions, and swales, the community is taught to work with nature, rather than against it, to restore their lands.
The Greener.Land team connected with Latifa Oumlil – the project leader – and flew out to learn more about the Perma Atlas project and film the progress of the Ounila Valley’s restoration. Over five days, the team met with villagers, filmed the landscape, conducted interviews, and documented the implementation of regenerative interventions. To see how the Perma Atlas project is regreening Ounila Valley, watch the videos on this page!
Videos