REDEFINING BEAUTY

Beauty is a powerful innovative force that can foster change by contributing to the betterment of our environment and the development of the most neglected communities. 

At Zahara Skincare, we believe beauty has the power to make lives brighter. This ethos drove us to launch an Agrivoltaics initiative bringing renewable electricity and economic opportunity to underserved communities in Southern Morocco.  

Agrivoltaics co-locates agriculture and solar panels on the same land. This innovative model provides multiple benefits – clean energy, crop shade and protection, water conservation, and nutrient-rich soil. For marginalized rural populations, it means improved food security, water access, and a pathway out of poverty. 

UNITING BEAUTY & BUSINESS STRATEGY TO SUPPORT GREEN ENERGY AND CREATE SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHANGE

Touched by the precarious social and environmental circumstances and inspired by the power of Beauty in making history by empowering the intrinsic beauty of people, Zahara’s purpose is to provide concrete skincare solutions, while using creativity as an innovative force to foster human dignity and heal our planet.

We strongly believe that ethical entrepreneurship is a grand key to creating equal, purposeful, and sustainable opportunities within lower-income societies. Companies, small and large, from all industries, can and must contribute to building a global socio-economic structure that is sustainable, more trustworthy, and capable of addressing humanity’s most profound and urgent challenges.

How can Beauty participate in the betterment
of society and the environment?

The background story of our business is rooted in this moral philosophy.

For instance, our Founder, Najat Hafdi’s fearlessness unlocked a grand door to make a global impact through work and business by granting her two children access to education in America.

“My brother Abdellah Awtoul and I were born and raised in Casablanca, Morocco. We accessed an excellent educational system thanks to our mother’s hard work and perseverance in the United States.

Although it was brutal for the three of us to live far away from each other, today, we consider ourselves lucky because growing up in our country cultivated in us a strong sense of patriotism, diligence, and willingness to help the young people who are living in precarious conditions and who weren’t given the golden opportunity we had to move abroad and study.

It is thanks to education; we are now dedicated to creating strategies that support inclusive advancement using the opportunities we have.

We strongly believe that ethical entrepreneurship is the ultimate entrance ticket to creating equal, purposeful, and sustainable opportunities within lower-income societies.”

Mouna Awtoul –
Pre-Law Student & Zahara Business Manager

What solutions Zahara is crafting to mitigate
the effects of climate change in impoverished populations?

Case Study

INNOVATION

  • Minimize the effects of the climate crisis on agriculture
  • Build resilient food-production and energy-generation systems
  • Expand access to water
  • Encourage education in rural regions
  • Create Work Opportunities
  • Achieve net-zero emissions
  • End extreme poverty

The Problem

One of the most neglected and marginalized parts of the world is located in Southern Morocco. Despite the Atlantic and Mediterranean oceans, this zone is considered sterile because the Atlas Mountains hinder the passage of humid clouds to the South.

Even though its population is renowned for the craft of carpet and rug weaving, they suffer deficient access to water, healthcare, and education, often living at the margins and carrying a heavy burden of poverty.

For instance, the academic path of children, especially girls, ends after elementary school because of the lack of schools and means of transportation. Needless to add, their difficult living circumstances heightened during and after the pandemic.

The Solution

Green Generation

To respond to these major problems, King Mohammed 6 adopted some strategies to solve the agricultural issue, as it represents a significant source of livelihood to many communities across the country. 

The Moroccan State proceeded to the desalination of the seas and the extraction of water from wells, the construction of hillside dams to reach the irrigation of one million hectares. Morocco has adopted an agricultural plan called “The Green Plan” which was studied and executed by the renowned American firm Mackenzie. This plan has had an encouraging impact on the lives of farmers. Currently, a second plan called “Green Generation” is in place to encourage these cooperative actions further. 

All these efforts are promising as they unleash the possibility of creating dignified work opportunities among disadvantaged natives. 

How does all of this relate to us, and how is it linked to our skincare business venture?

We strongly believe that the only exit to avoid further human and climatic disasters is that we all (governments, businesses, and individuals) take action and develop strategies that can contribute to the betterment of our planet and the flourishing of underprivileged communities. 

Zahara began a promising innovative project that enables solar energy generation and agricultural practices to coexist and interact in a mutually beneficial way, therefore fostering the creation of shared value with the local area and communities within which the crops are located.

This project will not only contribute to alleviating rural poverty by fostering new opportunities for the involvement of local people and businesses, but it will also play a significant role in minimizing the effects of the climate crisis on agriculture and safeguarding biodiversity. 

Such is the case for Agrivoltaics, a new frontier for renewable energy.

Advancement is, therefore, possible.

The United States, The Land of The Free, gave our family promising opportunities to evolve and rise; it gave us a solid cord to pull ourselves from a mediocre future. It is time for us to use these keys as an instrument to establish and implement comprehensive new solutions that fortify human prosperity and environmental preservation.

We are confident that this plan of action can be successfully executed because we are already equipped with a high-quality skincare line that delivers customer value and grants us sustainable resources to tackle poverty in a neglected part of the world while helping the world achieve the global commitment to reduce greenhouse emissions, expand access to clean drinking water, build up a clean power grid, and more.