Water for the Oasis

Work to deepen the wellto a depth of 20 metres (to provide 8 metres of water) is still in progress. It has taken longer than expected due to the hardness of the materials encountered and the need to hire a better-equipped team. When work resumed after the month of Ramadan, the external pump used to empty the water during the works burnt out. It was therefore decided, with the technician in charge, to place the solar panels temporarily on the ground. This made it possible to install the definitive submersible pump. The panels will then be moved to the roof of the shelter still under construction. The well now runs on solar power! ☀️

The first sprouts are coming out of the ground! 🌱

A pleasant surprise awaited Sissi and Sarah in Zagora during their visit in April: Sissi’s brother-in-law Mustapha and his brother Si Mbark, retired director of the Zagora experimental palm grove, generously offered us 100 Nejda date palm shoots (resistant to bayoud) from their garden to plant on the M’hamid well site! 🌴 As the season for planting is from mid-April to mid-May the preparation of the palm shoots began immediately! They were planted at a distance of 10m by 10m, over 1 hectare under Si Mbark’s expert supervision.

P.S We haven’t forgotten you about the photo and recipe giveaways. We’re waiting for the well to be definitively finished before sending you the final photo.

Hello, hello !

We wish you all a very happy New Year! As the new year begins, we bring you some exciting news from the well.

The digging and reinforcement of the well was completed a few weeks ago. We first hit the water at the depth of 14 m and the well is currently 16 m deep. We still want to dig a little deeper in case the water level in the aquifer drops. The very good news is that the water is only slightly salty. The solar panels to power the pump are on order and the construction work to install them is almost complete.

The very first alfalfa seeds were sown at the end of December. Everything is looking very good for this beautiful project and we’re looking forward to the first harvests! 🌱💧

Now that the fundraising campaign is over, we’d like to thank you all once again for your contributions, your sharing and your very positive feedback! Thanks to all of you, we were able to reach not one, but TWO goals. That’s more than we could have hoped for! So once again: THANK YOU! ❤️

The digging work is progressing well. A layer of hard rock has been reached at 9 meters, and digging now requires the use of a jackhammer. Progress is slower, but the hole reached 12 metres deep. We’re very excited with the progress on the first well and to start the improvements to the one in the Bani. ☺️

The two masons started digging last week! We are very happy that we’ve been able to start work on the first goal so quickly, and we’d like to thank you once again for your generous contributions! If you’re interested in the progress of the work, you can follow us on our Instagram page: @de_leau_pour_loasis (link at the bottom of the page in the project description), news will also be posted on Sissi’s website: http://www.zafrani.ch/fr/au-fil-des-jours.

The well can be built! And that in just 6 days! Incredible! THANK YOU SO MUCH !! The work will starts in two weeks if the heat allows it (47°C right now)… It’s magnificent! 🤩

But if in one week you’ve built one well, why not try to improve another with the remaining 38 days? A nomadic family from Jbel Bani north of the Feija plateau told Sissi about their need for a solar pump and a watering basin at the pretty stone well near their camp, which is very isolated. This will be a great help to these camel and goat herders, and will also benefit other families transhumant in the area.

The budget for the pump, solar panels and construction of the pond is estimated at 6’000 CHF. Sissi will oversee the project with a friend from Zagora.

So don’t hesitate to keep sharing :)

Incroyable! Grâce à vous toutes et tous nous avons atteint 50% de notre objectif en moins de 24 heures! Ceci est absolument génial, un énorme MERCI pour vos participations et vos partages vous êtes fabuleux et fabuleuses!!

Nous nous réjouissons de pouvoir lancer les travaux! Vous offrez déjà 11 mètres de puits, il en reste encore 9 pour atteindre l’eau. N’hésitez pas à continuer de partager.