Years of drought in Morocco are becoming more frequent and severe. Over the last sixteen years, nine droughts have been recorded, whereas during the first half of the century there was on average one drought every ten years.
This year, very little snow fell over the Atlas Mountains, which meant that the water level of the river that once carved the Ourika Valley lies very low.
However, when the snows do fall over the High Atlas Mountains, the resulting melt-water courses in torrents down the mountainsides creating powerful floods that sweep the length of the Ourika Valley.
As this precious resource dwindles as the droughts increase due to global warming, more will need to be done to preserve what water remains. As the supplies run out in the remote villages, people will make pilgrimages in search of water.
In order to ensure a supply of water for these pilgrims, the melt-water that flows down from the mountain peaks each spring is to be collected and conserved within the retreat.
The retreat will consist of a complex close to the river where the water will be stored. This water will irrigate the once desolate terraces and promote self-sustenance within the retreat. The retreat will also offer water to the pilgrims who come in search of this life giving substance. In return, they will dwell within the retreat for several days, reflecting upon the spiritual nature of water and helping maintain the watercourses used to collect the melt-water. There are existing courses imprinted in the mountainside that the melt-water follows each year.
These are to be cultivated so that some of the water becomes channelled into the retreat.
This will be one of a series of retreats along the Atlas Mountains that will form a chain of reservoirs for the mountain people as they perform their water pilgrimage.
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