Turning Sun into Water in Parched Rural Morocco

Local Editor

In the arid mountains of eastern Morocco, people know the value of water all too well.

"Every drop is like gold. It should almost be measured by the carat," said local activist Najib Bachiri.

Eight hundred kilometers away in bustling Marrakesh, negotiators are this week thrashing out the details of a landmark global agreement designed to stave off disastrous climate change.

But in Tafoughalt, a little village deep in the mountains of Morocco's Berkane province, that impact is being felt already.

Rising temperatures are among the factors making the rains increasingly unpredictable.

As a consequence, life for the residents of Tafoughalt -- who largely survive on subsistence farming -- is becoming harder than ever.

"Here, the farmers work on small plots that are barely enough to feed their families," says Bachiri, head of campaign group Homme et Environnement ["Man and Environment"].

The group is working to reverse an exodus from the mountains as people seek easier lives elsewhere.

Bachiri says local problems feed into each other; isolation makes life difficult, which encourages people to quit the countryside. Abandoned fields lead to land erosion, which in turn also spurs on the exodus.

And in the background, there is the constant shortage of water.

With the help of local funds and international donors, Bachiri's group has installed two solar water pumps in the mountains of Tafoughalt.

Two rows of black solar panels, two meters [2.2 yards] across and 10 meters long, are connected to a generator which feeds a pump extracting water from underground.

The equipment is durable and low-maintenance. The sunlight is unlimited in supply, but carries none of diesel's downsides in terms of pollution and ill-health.

"Solar energy is so much better," says 60-year-old local farmer Mahta Allal.

"The pumping is weaker in winter or when it's cloudy. But it's good for us when the sun is there -- it can double the pumping and irrigation."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team