What comes to mind when you listen to the water on the Joudour Sahara farm site?
The heat is very extreme during the week of Eid at the end of June 2023 in southern Morocco
The heat is very extreme during the week of Eid at the end of June 2023 in southern Morocco
With Halim Sbai, climate activist from M'Hamid, I interview five students, young teenagers, Fatima, Khadijah, Arwah, Ibtissem and Souad who grew up and participate in community and musical activities with Joudour Sahara. They participate with us in recording and listening to climate change in the oasis, and the history of water and the water crisis in Morocco's southern Sahara desert communities. It's very hot and we resume the interview in the early evening at the farm site. Farmer Habib runs the water pump from the reservoir on their site and we hear the water pumping through the veins of the farm field. The students, Halim and I find a spot along the water beds, vegetation, date palms and desert to sit and have a conversation.
- What comes to mind when you listen to the water on the Joudour Sahara farm site?
- It's like a river flowing through the farm. Water is life, but it's getting scarcer. There's a dry season.
- Where does the water come from?
- From the well, from the ground.
- What does this tell you about M'Hamid and the climate?
- M'Hamid has suffered from a lack of water. We need more trees in M'Hamid.
- What's special about this farm for you?
- It's like going back in time, back to our roots. It's a miracle.
