Fog harvesting through giant nets called “CloudFisher”, communities in Morocco manage to obtain thousands of liters of water daily, mitigating the effects of extreme drought.
In the arid expanses of North Africa, fog harvesting in the Sahara has established itself as a vital technological solution to tackle water scarcity.
Through the installation of high-tech polymer meshes on mountain peaks, the project led by the non-governmental organization Dar Si Hmad has managed to capture the microdroplets suspended in the air to supply hundreds of people in regions where rain is practically nonexistent.
The epicenter of this initiative is located on Mount Boutmezguida, in Morocco. At this strategic point, the altitude and climatic conditions facilitate the formation of dense mists that, when colliding with the polyethylene nets, condense and transform into liquid water.
This system, known as CloudFisher, represents the most extensive deployment of atmospheric water collection on the planet, capable of generating up to 37,000 liters of water per day in optimal fog conditions.
Technology and sustainability at the service of the community
The operational process is as simple as it is efficient: the meshes trap the moisture, which slides into gutters that lead the resource to storage tanks.
Subsequently, the water is filtered and distributed through a network of pipes powered by solar energy.
This infrastructure not only guarantees access to the vital resource but also has a profound social impact, as it prevents women and children in Berber villages from having to make several-hour journeys to collect water from distant or contaminated wells.
The effectiveness of fog harvesting in the Sahara lies in its design adapted to extreme climates. The nets are made of materials resistant to wind gusts exceeding 120 km/h, ensuring the project’s durability in an environment as hostile as the desert.
As climate change intensifies global droughts, this model of “cloud mining” positions itself as a reference for sustainability.
By not requiring conventional electrical energy or complex chemical processes, obtaining water from the atmosphere presents itself as an ecological and low-cost alternative for rural populations living on the margins of the world’s largest deserts.
