Dear readers and
friends,
Sorry for the long
radio silence! We have been busy preparing for the inauguration of our
fog-water harvesting project in Ait Baamrane, a region of villages in rural
southwestern Morocco. In the culmination of nearly ten years of research and
development, Saturday, March 21st, saw 300 villagers,
international researchers, supporters and national and US embassy
representatives join us in celebrating the opening of a pipeline bringing fresh
running water to the homes of Tnin Amellou for the first time in history.
Prior to the event,
Dar Si Hmad hosted a press conference to inform local and international media
about this innovative project, and we have since received considerable press
coverage – check us out on L’Economiste (http://www.leconomiste.com/article/968558-experience-inedite-sidi-ifnide-leau-potable-extraite-du-brouillard),
Les Éco (http://www.leseco.ma/economie/26537-sidi-ifni-recolte-l-eau-de-brouillard.html),
and SciDev (http://www.scidev.net/mena/ water/news/Fog-harvest-quench-Moroccan-village-thirst.html). Project partner USAID hailed the project “a great example of
local stakeholders coming together to meet water needs through an ingenious
alternative solution supported by the American People.”
The inauguration kicked off with a ceremonial opening of the tap at Dar
Si Hmad staffer Hussein’s house. (Pictured above is US Embassy
representative filling a glass of fog water.) This was followed by multilingual
speeches from Dar Si Hmad president Aissa Derhem, director Jamila Bargach,
researcher Vicky Marzol, village representative Belkacem IdAachour, and US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Matt Lussenhop. The event concluded with
a four-course meal, showcasing the specialties of the region.
In order to prepare the people of Ait Baamrane for the inauguration, Dar
Si Hmad conducted various training sessions aiming to teach women in the villages to communicate and solve water
related-issues using Information and Communication Technology (ICT). In
particular, Dar Si Hmad staff taught women plumbing skills and how to use
mobile messaging technology as a tool to communicate problems that may arise
with the fog-water system, ensuring the women’s roles as the traditional
guardians of water would not be undermined by this new technology. Women and
girls, who were previously responsible for retrieving water from distant wells,
will now have an additional three hours every day to invest in education
and income-generating projects.
Stay tuned for updates
on our research as this beautiful project continues to grow (with your
contributions!) and visit our Global Giving page to support our efforts to
expand and improve education in this underserved region: http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/summer-water-school-for-rural-children-in-morocco/.
Also look out for our upcoming
summer programs with University of Colorado in Boulder, Worchester Polytechnic
Institute, University of Tampa, Seattle University, and Georgetown University!
As always, we are
humbled by your unwavering support.
Jade
Lansing
Ethnographic
School Liaison and Manager