Morocco installs giant fog nets

Fondation Dar Si Hmad operates a network of fog-harvesting nets on Mount Boutmezguida in southwest Morocco that supplies drinking water to villages in the Anti-Atlas, according to the group and its project partners. The system captures moisture from Atlantic fog on mesh stretched across steel frames, then channels the collected water into reservoirs and pipes feeding homes. Dar Si Hmad says the project now serves 16 villages. WasserStiftung, the German nonprofit behind the CloudFisher technology used at the site, says the Morocco installation is the world’s largest operating fog collection system. ### Where is the system, and who runs it? Dar Si Hmad says it was founded in Sidi Ifni in April 2010 and runs the fog-water project with Amazigh communities in the Aït Baamrane area of southwest Morocco. The organization’s site places the collection system in the Anti-Atlas Mountains and says it has delivered fog-harvested water since 2011. A separate Dar Si Hmad page lists Mount Boutmezguida as one of its operating sites. (darsihmad.org) UNFCCC described Dar Si Hmad as a women-led Moroccan NGO and said the project was designed for villages on the edge of the Sahara Desert where groundwater had become unreliable because of repeated drought. The U.N. climate body said the early phase of the network supplied more than 400 people in five villages before later expansion. (darsihmad.org) ### How do the fog nets turn mist into tap water? WasserStiftung says CloudFisher uses a three-dimensional fine-mesh net suspended in a steel frame. Fog droplets collect on the mesh, run into channels and pipes, and are moved into storage without the need for external energy at the collection point, according to the group. The equipment can withstand wind speeds of up to 120 kph, it says. (unfccc.int) UNFCCC said the Morocco project’s earlier buildout included 600 square meters of nets, seven reservoirs with 539 cubic meters of storage, six solar panels and more than 10,000 meters of piping. Dar Si Hmad later upgraded the system to CloudFisher technology, according to project descriptions from the group and its partners. (wasserstiftung.de) ### How big is the Morocco installation now? WasserStiftung says the current Morocco system has been operating since 2018 with 31 CloudFisher units and 1,686 square meters of net area. On average, it says, the site yields 22 liters of water per square meter of net per year, or about 37,092 liters on a fog day. The group says that amount supports about 1,300 residents across 16 villages, at roughly 12 liters per person per day. (unfccc.int) Dar Si Hmad’s own website says the project serves “16+” villages and more than 1,000 beneficiaries. Aqualonis, the company linked by WasserStiftung as the technology developer, says around 1,600 inhabitants in 16 villages are connected and receive up to 18 liters a day, indicating that public estimates vary by source and measurement date. ### What changed for households that used to fetch water by hand? UNFCCC said women in the area had previously spent more than three hours a day collecting water from distant wells. (wasserstiftung.de) A 2024 report published by Towards Equality, citing L’Economiste and Dar Si Hmad president Aissa Derhem, said the project changed the lives of 300 women and girls by ending long trips for water after homes were connected. (darsihmad.org) The same 2024 report said households receive water through pipes and branch connections and pay 10 Moroccan dirhams a month plus 7 dirhams per cubic meter. Aissa Derhem told the publication that women in the villages also act as local points of contact who alert technicians when repairs are needed. ### Why is this project getting attention again now? (unfccc.int) Daily Galaxy published a story on May 16, 2026 highlighting the Morocco fog-net system and describing how it reduced the burden of carrying water in Aït Baâmrane. The recent coverage drew on long-running project material from Dar Si Hmad and its partners rather than announcing a new installation this month. (towards-equality.com) Think Human Fund, which backs Dar Si Hmad’s fog-harvesting work, says the foundation plans studies and permitting for expansion to Tabettist and six additional villages. Dar Si Hmad’s website also solicits partners to support work across southwest Morocco, but it does not list a dated construction start for the next phase. (thinkhumanfund.org) (dailygalaxy.com)