• English
  • Français
  • العربية
Follow us
Union for the Mediterranean – UfMUnion for the Mediterranean – UfMUnion for the Mediterranean – UfMUnion for the Mediterranean – UfM     Mediterranean Day
  • Who we are
    • Who we are

      The Union for the Mediterranean is an intergovernmental institution bringing together the European Union Member States and 16 countries from the Southern and Eastern shores of the Mediterranean to promote dialogue and cooperation.

      Overview   

    • Who we are

      • Member States
      • Meet the team
      • Partners
      • History
    • Key documents

      UfM Annual Report 2022 Regional Integration
  • What we do
    • Notre action

      The UfM seeks to enhance regional cooperation, dialogue and the implementation of concrete projects and initiatives with tangible impact on our citizens to address three strategic objectives: human development, stability and integration.

      Overview   

    • Inclusive Development

      • Economic Development and Employment
      • Higher Education & Research
      • Social & Civil Affairs

      Sustainable development

      • Water, Environment and Blue Economy
      • Transport & Urban Development
      • Energy & Climate Action
    • How we work

      • Political Framework
      • Regional Dialogue Platforms
      • Projects and Initiatives
  • Work with us
    • The UfM Secretariat is the operational platform of the Union for the Mediterranean. The staff of the UfM is made of more than 17 nationalities working in a multicultural environment that fosters cooperation and intercultural communication and exchange.

    • Work with us

      • Vacancies
      • Secondments
      • Internships
      • Procurement
      • Roster of experts
  • Info center
    • Info center

      Find our latest press releases, press invitations, visual identity, key institutional documents, photos and other relevant information


      Download the UfM Visual Identity Guidelines and Logos (zip file)   

    • Info center

      • Media corner
      • News
      • Agenda
      • Publications and key documents
      • Human Stories of the Mediterranean
    • UfM in the Media

      17 February 2023 – La Tribune Afrique – Nasser Kamel : « L’Europe doit regarder de près l’idée d’emmener ses centres d’approvisionnement en Afrique »
      View article
      28 March 2023 – Il sole 24 ore – Anna Dorangricchia (UfM) on women entrepreneurs in MENA region
      View article
      11 May 2023 – ANSAmed – ‘Più integrazione Ue-Sud la chiave per gestire le migrazioni’
      View article
      See more
  • Contact

Building a Green Future for Morocco and Beyond

Social & Civil Affairs

Doctor Fatima Zahra Beraich is no stranger to breaking new ground. In her roles as a chemical engineer, entrepreneur, and mother, she has dedicated her life to improving her community, in Morocco and beyond.

Fatima set up her company, Biodôme du Maroc, in 2013 whilst completing her chemical engineering PhD. She states that her interest in chemistry “allowed [her] to develop an innovation mindset” from a young age – she tried to submit her first patent at only seventeen years old -. This remarkable drive guided her early interest in sustainability, which led to her focusing on agricultural engineering because she knew that “as a developing country, Morocco needed it.”

Sustainability is an increasingly prominent issue in Morocco, especially as environmental degradation is estimated to have an impact of up of 3.5% on Moroccan GDP. For Fatima, a mindset shift is required to build momentum for green initiatives in Morocco. She helps Moroccans to “instead of seeing waste as waste, [to see it] as raw material, as material for recovery and to see the possibilities for generating income.”

Biodôme is built on a revolutionary idea: a better designed waste digester that uses agricultural plant and livestock waste. This system produces compost and gas, which are respectively used on fields as organic fertilizer and to run farm equipment and generators, allowing farmers and others to improve both their waste management and reduce their greenhouse gas production. Now the proud owner of several patents, Biodôme continues to go from strength to strength, and has pivoted to “create a production line of small local composting machines for households.” Having rolled out Biodôme across Morocco, Fatima is keen to expand to other countries, including Tunisia and Egypt.

Her drive extends beyond developing her business: she is also a passionate advocate for her community. “I work on local solutions, so 100% Moroccan solutions that are made in Morocco”, that directly benefit Moroccans, she states. This grassroots approach has also led to Biodôme developing a training programme to allow young people to become self-employed and install units for others, creating a ripple effect that has improved youth employment and Biodôme’s reach. As well as benefiting young job seekers, the Biodôme composter has become popular with women “who have had simplified, popularised, targeted training and who can now produce their own compost [at home], sell it and generate income continuously.”

Fatima is passionate about the role of women, as entrepreneurs, in her industry, and throughout Morocco. Discussing the challenges she has overcome, often as the only woman managing a rural agricultural site, she states “we know very well that we [women] will continue and although I had to face several obstacles, in the end, I succeed, I reach my goals, I finish my projects despite the constraints and the problems that I encounter. It all depends on the personality of the woman, the degree of desire to fight [and] to move forward.”

The proud winner of the Best Woman Entrepreneur of the Year in 2018 and at the COP22 in 2016, she is modest about her achievements. When asked about her position as a female entrepreneurial role model, she clearly states

“I did not see myself as a woman entrepreneur, I simply saw myself as an entrepreneur, with the objective of carrying out a project that addresses environmental and economic issues.”

In 2015, she attended the Union for the Mediterranean’s WOMED two-week training programme, and credits it with instilling the energy in her to grow her company: “I went through several difficulties, several problems and if I had not received this energy, I think that I could not have continued and completed what I was doing until now.”

Her experience in the programme reinforced her commitment to developing her business, others, and herself. The gender equality focus of the programme has allowed her to better “identify, determine several values ​​and rights that were not clear [to me]. Values ​​that we [the attendees] knew, but that we could not express or defend as we needed to.” Fatima also praised the community spirit the programme created: “We saw ourselves in other women. We saw ourselves in the problems that other colleagues were experiencing. We later realised that we all had problems in common, even though we come from different cultures.”

Fatima still keeps in touch with her WOMED cohort, and is adamant that her experience in the programme was transformative. WOMED “is magnificent: as soon as we bring together women leaders… we exchange… Just that was enough for us to grow stronger, [it gave us] a lot of strength to continue, to move forward, to keep this connection, this bond that continues until now. The secret is… to bring together women who have the same mindset, the same vision, the same courage, who are fighting in their countries.”

About WOMED

The WOMED programme was designed to strengthen the capacities of high-potential young women aged between 25 and 35 years old from the Southern Mediterranean countries by building their leadership skills through an intensive gender equality-focused training programme. The WOMED project was labelled by the 43 member states of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) in 2015, contributing to the implementation of the UfM Ministerial Declarations on Strengthening the Role of Women in Society and was part of the UfM Secretariat’s global strategy to promote concrete projects for women empowerment and gender equality in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

  • Discover Lina Khalifeh’s story, another entrepreneur who went through the WOMED training programme.

More on the UfM’s action for gender equality and women empowerment

  • Discover the work carried out by the Social & Civil Affairs division.
  • Learn more about groundbreaking data on this topic, through the first-ever Intergovernmental Monitoring Mechanism on Gender Equality in the Euro-Mediterranean Region.
Back to Human Stories Page
Previous Story
Next Story

Who we are

  • Member States
  • Meet the team
  • Partners
  • History

What we do

  • Economic Development & Employment
  • Higher Education & Research
  • Social & Civil Affairs
  • Water, Environment and Blue Economy
  • Transport & Urban Development
  • Energy & Climate Action

How we work

  • Political Framework
  • Regional Dialogue Platforms
  • Projects and Initiatives

Work with us

  • Vacancies
  • Secondments
  • Internships
  • Procurement
  • Roster of experts

Info centre

  • Media corner
  • News
  • Agenda
  • Publications and key documents
  • Human Stories of the Mediterranean
  • Photo gallery
  • Video gallery
Co-financé par l'Union européenne  -  Cookie Privacy  |  Privacy Privacy  |  Legal notice
  • Who we are
    • Member States
    • Meet the team
    • Partners
    • History
  • What we do
    • Economic Development and Employment
    • Higher Education & Research
    • Social & Civil Affairs
    • Water, Environment and Blue Economy
    • Transport & Urban Development
    • Energy & Climate Action
  • How we work
    • Political Framework
    • Regional Dialogue Platforms
    • Projects and Initiatives
  • Work with us
    • Vacancies
    • Secondments
    • Internships
    • Procurement
    • Roster of experts
  • Info centre
    • Media center
    • News
    • Agenda
    • Publications and key documents
  • Contact
  • Social media
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
    • Linkedin
    • Flickr
  • English
  • Français
  • العربية
  • English
  • Français
  • العربية
Union for the Mediterranean – UfM
/* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: Loop item in Megamenu – Latest Ufm in the news - start */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: Loop item in Megamenu – Latest Ufm in the news - end */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: Content template for Human Stories - start */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ .nextprevbutton a{ color: #1e326e; background: #fff; border:1px solid #1e326e; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; font-weight: 900; border-radius: 50px; } .nextprevbutton a:hover{ background: #009de0; border-color:#009de0; color:#fff; } @media only screen and (max-width:767px){ .nextprevbutton.ta_right{ float:none; text-align:left; } } /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: Content template for Human Stories - end */ /* ----------------------------------------- */

 

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.


3rd Party Cookies

Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Cookies Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Read more

3rd Party Cookies

This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.

Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!