Irrigation Systems for Fruit Trees in Africa

When the quake shattered mountain springs and cracked ancient canals, we knew that bringing water back to life would take more than pipes—it would take the sun.

Between November 2024 and May 2025, our team at the High Atlas Foundation, backed by GlobalGiving, quietly installed solar pumps and built irrigation basins in four High Atlas villages.

The result? Villagers trading in diesel generators and bucket brigades for a sun-driven, hands-free flow of water.

Solar Pumps: Wells and Springs That Run on Sunshine

In Wizemaran, Imlil and Ouled Khlifa, we bolted 180 photovoltaic panels onto roofs and hillsides. Those panels now power three robust pumps—one in each village—that draw water from deep wells without a drop of diesel.

• In Wizemaran, the pump hums even before sunrise, filling an 80 m³ tank and pushing water through 4 km of shiny new pipes. No waiting for fuel deliveries; it simply works whenever daylight hits the panels.
• Imlil’s high-altitude well got its solar makeover in April. Gravity now carries that water down to two brand-new 75 m³ basins, ready at any moment to quench orchards and vegetable plots.
• Ouled Khlifa, saw its solar array flipped on in March. Sixty panels now drive a pump that feeds 6 km of pipe, keeping faucets and animal troughs full day and night.

By swapping diesel for sunlight, these villages save money, cut maintenance headaches—and, best of all, control their own water supply with the flip of a switch.

Basins & Canals: Catching Every Precious Drop

Power is only part of the story. We also built five new irrigation basins—two in Boughzir, one in Wizemaran and two in Imlil—each holding up to 120 m³ of water. That means a slow drizzle today becomes a drip-fed lifeline tomorrow.

• Boughzir’s basins and four kilometers of fresh piping mean farmers finally water their cherry and almond trees on schedule, instead of chasing spring flows.
• In Wizemaran, we repaired 2.8 km of historic sequia and carved 150 m of new canals, reviving ancestral terraces that had lain dry since the quake.
• Imlil’s twin basins perch like glassy mirrors in the sun, delivering a steady stream down to fields below—no pump needed once they’re topped off.

All told, these basins can store around 600 m³ of water. When the time comes to plant those 50 000 endemic fruit trees, every sapling will have a reservoir waiting.

Beyond Pipes: Independence & Hope

This isn’t just infrastructure—it’s freedom. Women and girls no longer shoulder heavy jugs at dawn; farmers plan their crops around seasons, not generator schedules. And by tapping into clean solar power, these communities have a blueprint for resilience: wells that run on the weather, basins that capture every drop, and canals that whisper life back into terraced slopes.

Next, we’ll carry this model to all 21 villages in the Aghbar Valley. Because when the sun fuels your water, you’re not just rebuilding—you’re reimagining what’s possible.

On the 13^th of January 2025, a four person delegation of the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) visited Missour, a 200-person inhabitants village on the south side of the High Atlas in the Taroudant province.

The trip started at 5.30 in the morning and the ride from Marrakech to Missour took four hours. Read below to find out how the trip had gone:

When we arrived in Missour in the early morning, we were warm heartedly welcomed by one of the village’s representatives. Immediately we were invited for breakfast and Mohammed, the trip’s leader from HAF explained why we had chosen to hear from the people of the village community to understand their needs.

For him, not only talking to the most powerful person in the village often offers a new perspective on what is needed.

In the case of Missour, the need for water pipes had been expressed in the past and HAF in collaboration with the Austrian Embassy in Rabat recently turned this wish into reality.

On this Monday, HAF came to check whether the system continues to work successfully and whether the people had developed new ideas for follow up projects.

When we were guided by the local responsible to the pipes and water stores, we were immediately impressed by how well the system worked.

A five person community group climbed the hill with ease and explained what they had already arranged in detail. After having managed to reach the top of the hill, we were all fascinated by the construction of the irrigation and drinking-water storage.

Two pipes leading from an aquifer on top of the hill led to the irrigation and drinking water basin. There the water can be stored and cleaned, to when needed be piped downhill through two further pumps.

But while the water from the two basins can keep the hill below the village arable, the hill above the village remains a dangerous, uninhabitable place characterized by loose rocks and dust.

Despite our fascination for the landscape, we were all frightened by the thought of how much damage a rockfall or any other type of erosion could inflict on the village.

We thought to ourselves: Indeed, water is a vital resource to secure a community’s living standards, but if not properly used it does by no means secure a community’s living.

We concluded that for the people of Missour planting trees on the hill above the village would be the best option to ensure a safe and prosperous future.

The roots of trees and shrubs can stabilize the soil and thus prevent erosion. This is why we were not surprised that the six village representatives expressed the need to fetch water from the below river basin through a solar pump to green the hill above the village and thus prevent rockfalls and other types of erosion.

The proposal they presented to us sounded like a thoroughly planned project, which does not help a small group of stakeholders, but the village as a whole. Clearly, A village can only face their problems as a unit.

Recognizing the urgent need for action, HAF is committed to reviewing the village’s well-conceived proposal, with the aim of fostering long-term safety and sustainability for the Missour people.