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Atlas Volunteers Association (Tiswit Project)
Atlas Volunteers Association is a community-focused initiative based in Tiswit Village, Midelt, Morocco. Our mission is to support the local community, especially children, through educational, intercultural, and community-based projects during the summer months.
Rooted in respect, presence, and mutual learning, we prioritize authentic relationships, cultural sensitivity, and ethical volunteering. Volunteers join us for a meaningful experience of reflection, shared time, and conscious living, while the community benefits from sustainable, locally-led initiatives.
We are small, ethically grounded, and committed to quality over quantity, ensuring the dignity and well-being of the children and community remain at the heart of everything we do.
Atlas Volunteers Association (Tiswit Project)
1- Project Identity
Legal name: Atlas Volunteers Association
The project is born and developed exclusively in the village of Tiswit, Midelt region, Morocco. It does not seek to represent other villages nor to expand without deep reflection. The place is central: the project is built with deep roots in the community and its context.
2. Context and Origin
The Tiswit Project emerges from previous experiences of long-term volunteering in the village, which created genuine bonds with the community, especially with children. This experience made it possible to understand both the transformative potential of such initiatives and the risks when they turn into a business, create dependency, or promote external protagonism.
The project is born from the desire to do things differently, learning from past mistakes and establishing clear ethical boundaries from the very beginning.
3. Mission
The mission of the Tiswit Project is to accompany the community of the village of Tiswit during the summer, mainly children, through an educational, community-based, and intercultural project grounded in:
presence and shared time,
cultural respect,
mutual learning,
personal reflection for all participants.
The project does not seek to intervene in or change the community, but rather to strengthen existing processes and build authentic relationships.
For volunteers, the mission also includes a conscious living experience that invites them to:
reflect on their lives and consumption,
reconnect with what is essential,
practice mindfulness, care, and humility.
4. Vision
The vision of the Tiswit Project is to consolidate a small, coherent, and sustainable initiative, deeply rooted in the village, able to endure over time without losing its ethical foundation or sense of purpose.
In the long term, the project seeks to:
provide real and continuous educational support during the summer,
generate decent and stable local employment, even if seasonal,
be recognized by the community as a project that belongs to them, not one that is imposed.
Numerical growth or territorial expansion is not pursued if it would mean losing connection, quality, or coherence.
5. Type of Project
Educational: support for learning and accompaniment of children.
Community-based: developed together with the community, respecting its pace and decisions.
Intercultural: genuine and respectful encounters between people from different cultural backgrounds.
Human-centered: prioritizing relationships, shared living, and care over immediate results.
6. Scale and Phase
Scale: small
Current phase: pilot
Main period: summer
Number of volunteers: limited and controlled (maximum 15 per two-week period)
Growth: slow, conscious, and subject to review
Limiting the number of volunteers is an ethical and practical decision aimed at prioritizing the quality of the project and protecting the children’s privacy.
7. Values
Cultural respect and rootedness: the project adapts to the reality of the village, not the other way around.
Reciprocity: everyone gives and receives; there are no saviors or passive beneficiaries.
Conscious simplicity: a slower pace, less consumption, more shared time.
Local autonomy and leadership: decisions are made in collaboration with local people.
Relationship and continuity: strong, lasting bonds are prioritized over the quantity of activities.
Transparency and honesty: clear communication about goals, resources, and limitations.
Human and emotional care: respect for and support of children, volunteers, and the local team.
8. Inner and Spiritual Dimension
The project recognizes that intercultural encounter is also an inner process. Living together in Tiswit, sharing time and simplicity, opens deep personal processes for both volunteers and the local team.
Spirituality is understood as conscious presence, attention, listening, coherence, and reflection—not as religion or imposition.
The project creates spaces for:
introspection,
writing,
talking circles,
moments of silence,
reflection on consumption, relationships, and priorities.
This dimension is lived and experienced, not imposed.
9. Ethical and Practical Red Lines
The Tiswit Project acknowledges that it fits within the definition of voluntourism, but it operates with ethics and awareness. Clear boundaries are established:
Relationship with children
No individual gifts or money are given.
No emotional dependency is created.
No promises of future help are made if they cannot be sustained.
Absolute priority: the dignity and well-being of children.
Use of images
Avoid photos of children for emotional or promotional purposes.
Only group photos, activity shots from behind, hands, surroundings, school spaces, or materials are allowed.
Any image including children requires explicit consent and proper context.
Images that provoke pity or objectify are never used.
Role of the volunteer
Volunteers do not come to “save” or impose ideas.
All actions are coordinated with the local team.
No action is taken from urgency, pity, or a desire for protagonism.
Project operation
The project is non-profit in nature, with no personal benefit.
Income covers real costs and provides decent local employment.
Any surplus is reinvested in the community or the project itself.
The number of volunteers is consciously limited.
The well-being of the community comes before the volunteer experience.
These rules are non-negotiable.
10. Approach and Continuous Review
The Tiswit Project is not measured by numbers or photos. It is sustained through:
presence and attentive listening,
respect for the community’s pace,
constant review of motivations,
acceptance of limits.
If the project loses coherence, humanity, or respect, it is paused, reviewed, or transformed. No project is above the people or the community.
This document forms the ethical, conceptual, and operational foundation of the Tiswit Project. It must be read, understood, and respected by the entire coordinating team and all volunteers.
Based on this document, all project decisions and actions must be aligned with its principles.
Future Benefits
All surpluses are reinvested in:
Infrastructure improvements, educational materials, and cultural or community activities.
Fair payment to local staff according to future needs.
There are no personal profits; the project is not a business or source of private gain.
