Modernity has improved the standard of living for the residents of oasis regions, but it has also brought its share of pollution into a fragile ecosystem where water is particularly precious. In the oases of southern Morocco, rivers are used for livestock drinking troughs and agricultural irrigation, but also for washing clothes and carpets in specially built washhouses. Until a few decades ago, these washhouses were not a problem, as women (the main users of this system in rural areas) employed natural products to wash their items.
But since the introduction of chemical lye and bleach, rivers have been severely affected by pollution. This is particularly true of water downstream from the oasis, which was once used to irrigate alfalfa, an important forage crop in Morocco. Water now seeps through the ground, contaminating well water and the khettara , an ancient underground water dredging system.
To address the situation and safeguard the khettara, the nonprofit French association l'Eau Du Désert , or EDD (“Water of the Desert”), in collaboration with local associations, has helped the population of five oases set up modern collective laundries.
"Our project’s goal is to help protect soil and water in and around the oasis from chemical pollutants that come from washing laundry. This is a sustainable, communal solution to reduce pollution and participate in women's empowerment," says Yvette Suzuki, EDD’s president.
Now that the oases are moving away from traditional washing facilities, farmers are noticing a gradual reduction of chemicals in irrigation water and oasis soils. According to local associations, the water quality of the khettara has improved and the nauseating odors have disappeared.
This is also thanks to phyto-purification, an ecological sanitation system that filters wastewater using plants and a substrate made with gravel or aggregates. The system is a host for bacteria that break down organic particles in the water so that they can be absorbed into the natural environment. The gravel, both fine and coarse, acts as a filter, allowing water to flow through while blocking the largest pollutants. Plants put down roots that clean the gravel with their movement and decontaminate the water by absorbing some of the minerals.
The initiative began in 2013 with a prototype project in the Ouaklim oasis, 350 km east of Marrakesh. The final and current form of the project was developed in 2014 in the Izilf oasis, then replicated in Tabesbaste and Taltfraout that same year, and finally in the Magamane oasis in 2015, all in the same region.
The laundries are financed through contributions from local water users’ associations, who also manage them, and from EDD, the Moroccan National Human Development Initiative, the Programme for the Safeguarding and Development of the Tafilalel Oases (co-financed by the Moroccan government), the United Nations Development Programme and the Japanese government, as well as the municipalities of each oasis.
Each laundry has 10 to 12 washing machines, which use balls of ecological soap (Marseille or Aleppo). Women still tend to be responsible for their families’ clothing, carpets and blankets. But some men are regular clients, too, bringing in linens from tourist accommodations or boarding schools they oversee.
A 10-kg load of clothing costs 10 Moroccan dirhams (about 1 dollar) to clean, blankets cost 20 dirhams and carpets cost up to 40 dirhams. The number of clients fluctuates according to the season, but the Magamane laundry, for instance, can receive up to 350 customers per month.
After two years in operation, these laundries’ annual profits range from 3,000 to 6,000 dirhams. Each laundry also has a work space where women can sew, knit or prepare traditional pastries.
Following these encouraging results, EDD is now working on a liquid sanitation project for the oases, starting with the one in Izilf. This oasis discharges its wastewater through traditional septic tanks, and the residents have abandoned agriculture because of the increasing scarcity and pollution of the local water.
"Our objective is to achieve zero grey water in this oasis by using a phyto-purification system adapted to the size of the village, with the option of reusing filtered water for irrigation in order to revive agriculture in the village," says Suzuki.
EDD supports local associations through accounting and technical training so they can efficiently manage the ecological laundry project. The association also provides fundraising support for buying items such as solar panels.
This article is being published as part of Earth Beats, an international and collaborative initiative gathering 18 news media outlets from around the world to focus on solutions to waste and pollution.
