Dar Si Hmad for Development, Education and Culture is an independent nonprofit organization founded in 2010 promoting local culture and sustainable initiatives through education and the integration of scientific ingenuity in Southwest Morocco. We operate North Africa's largest fog harvesting project, providing villages with access to potable water. Our Water School and Girls' E-Learning Programs build capacity in the Anti-Atlas Mountains. Through our Ethnographic Field School, researchers and students engage with local communities in Agadir, Sidi Ifni, and the rural Aït Baamrane region for meaningful cross-cultural exchange.

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

A Foggy Day in Norwich

Last week, Project Coordinator Mahdi Lafram wrote about the Environmental Youth Ambassadors' trip to London for the Conservation Optimism Summit. His colleague Salma Edrif then told us about teaming up with the Zoological Society of London's Education Team to film biodiversity. She also talked about a seminar the team gave at Oxford.  

After a week exploring the UK, Mahdi and Salma had to come back to Agadir for university! But Abdelhaq stayed in the UK for another week...so here's part of what he got up to.

Moving from our talks at the Conservation Optimism Summit and at Oxford University, it was the University of East Anglia's turn to hear about Dar Si Hmad and our award-winning fog-harvesting project. Along with research partner Becca Farnum, I visited UEA's Water Security Research Centre to share our work.


With both researchers and students in attendance, our seminar presented the fog-harvesting technology - using the small model of a CloudFisher I made to demonstrate the science behind this simple but innovative project. We also talked about Dar Si Hmad's other programs, including women’s empowerment, the Water School, and reforestation. Our main objective was to share a story about technologies and models of sustainable development coming from Africa. We wanted to share creative solutions to water scarcity and community resilience to climate change.

After our talk, we had many fruitful conversations with the students to fulfil their curiosity about the links between fog, gender, society, sustainability, and climate change. I’m glad we made it to Norwich - where I got to see the University's beautiful green space and had a special encounter with one of their local bunnies!





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