A Moroccan innovation: capturing fog with giant nets to bring clean water to villages of Sidi Ifni. An award-winning climate solution. Duration: 2 h 30 · 40 points.
[1] "Everyone was leaving the village where I grew up, and it was all because of water shortage," says Jamila Bargach. Her village in Sidi Ifni in rural Morocco has known severe drought. However, this region has one precious resource: fog. "We began to read about fog-collecting projects around the world, and we decided to try it here as we have on average 143 days of fog a year," says Bargach.
[2] The fog is caused by a unique microclimate. The air turns into heavy fog, particularly between December and June. For years, the community saw this as a bad thing: they believed the fog prevented rainfall and made people sick.
[3] The fog-collecting project in Dar Si Hmad consisted of using nets to capture the fog at an altitude of 1,225 m on the top of Mount Boutmezguida. About 6,300 litres of water can be collected daily. The water is then filtered and mixed with underground water before it reaches 400 people in five villages through 8 km of pipelines.
[4] The benefits of the project are obvious: clean water is instant and free for the population. "We used to spend at least five hours going to collect water every day in neighbouring villages. This made it very difficult for us to go to school because it's just accepted by everyone that it's a woman's job to go and get water," says Zeyna Hamou, a local woman who works as a coordinator for Dar Si Hmad project.
[5] The idea of collecting fog was first developed in South America in the 1980s, and there are other projects in the US and Africa. Dar Si Hmad is planning to install the next generation of fog nets, developed in Germany. These larger nets will double the amount of water collected and connect other villages to the network.
[6] In recognition of its contribution to finding solutions to climate change, Dar Si Hmad was awarded the 2016 UN Momentum for Change award. The project members travelled to receive the award at the COP22 climate change conference in Marrakech.
Adapted from www.theguardian.com
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You gave your friend your laptop and she/he deleted some of your documents by accident.
Complete the paragraph: "There are many things we can do to make our school beautiful and clean. First, …"
There are many things we can do to make our school beautiful and clean. First, students should throw rubbish only in the bins and avoid leaving food packaging on the desks or in the playground. Secondly, we could organise weekly cleaning campaigns and plant trees and flowers in the schoolyard. Thirdly, posters of art created by students could decorate the corridors. Finally, awareness campaigns should remind everyone — students and teachers alike — that the school is our shared home.
COVID-19 has seriously affected the whole world. Write a short article for your school magazine about the social and economic problems Moroccans have faced because of this pandemic.
The Heavy Toll of COVID-19 on Moroccan Society
The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the entire world, and Morocco has been no exception. Our country has faced serious social and economic problems.
On the social level, the long lockdown periods isolated families and increased loneliness, anxiety and depression — especially among the elderly and young people. Schools and universities were closed for months, and students struggled with online learning, particularly those in rural areas without proper internet access.
On the economic level, the pandemic was devastating. Thousands of small businesses, restaurants and shops were forced to close down, and many Moroccans lost their jobs in tourism, transport and the informal sector. The country's GDP suffered an unprecedented decline.
However, Moroccans have shown great resilience. Solidarity initiatives, the rapid national vaccination campaign and the support of His Majesty the King's "Special Fund" helped the country face the crisis. Together, we will emerge stronger.