focuses on the local community and on the desertification of Beni Hayoun and its region in south east Morocco. We are working on bringing back the oasis life and we are creating an empowering and educational space for the local women and children. We ensure that the local population can stay and continue to live here.

Introduction
Welcome and thank you for visiting our website. We would like to take you on a journey into our project plans and history.

We are Es-Said Et-Talmoudi and Linde de Greeff, two ambitious people from Morocco and the Netherlands, living at the edge of the Sahara desert in south east Morocco. Together we are working on a multidisciplinary project in which we focus on the natural environment and its local community. With this project we are looking for solutions to make it possible for the locals to continue living in this harsh climate. We are not doing this alone: with volunteers from allover the world, we work hard on this project.

Plan for the property, designed and created by Sabrina HoiYan Young

Linde and Said

Sahara desert
The project where we're living and working, is located in the Daraa valley at the edge of the Sahara desert, one of the driest places on earth. This extremely dry part of Morocco covers a large part of the country. Many people still try to live here, but with the increasing heat it is becoming more challenging every year. Water is extremely scarce, wells are drying up, palm trees are dying and there is a lot of unemployment. Morocco's longest river - the oued Daraa - on which hundreds of villages depend, has dried up almost entirely since 1995. Our region only receives rain 2-4 days a year. A lot of Saharan nomads - including Said and his family - have stopped living in the desert, villagers are moving away from the region due to the lack of possibilities and are even attempting to leave the country. Ancient villages that are thousands of years old, become more and more abandoned and palm groves lack being looked after. While this area requires extra care, it is increasingly being left to its own devices.

We want to take action in the reforestation of the desert and thereby set a hopeful example for the local population. We will work according to permaculture principles, in order to create a system that is as self-sufficient as possible and has a long shelf life, adapted to the desert climate. By returning as many trees and plants as possible to the region, temperatures can drop and birds and insects can return. Our plot has fertile soil and contains several precious underground water veins. Self-sufficient living is becoming the only solution. It is a long and difficult process, but by continuing working on this project and together with your help, we will be able to return life to this desert region, and grow enough organic food for us and for the community.

Even in the desert some plants manage to grow with almost no water

Space for women & children
We aim to build a project space for women and children from this area. Children will be able to follow workshops in arts and crafts, gardening, music and self defence. Through gardening and discussing selfsustainability, we hope to enlarge consiousness of the worrying situation of the desertification while showing long-term solutions.

The local women will have a communal working space where they can work on their handicrafts and share ideas and techniques. We will work as a link between the women and external organizations and help to sell their products and to have their own income.

‘A day in the oasis’, designed and created by Sabrina HoiYan Young

Read more about our project goals here ︎

01. Sustainable oasis

02. Empowering women and children

03. Guest accommodation

About us ︎

Photo: Savarnah Grace

Volunteer ︎

︎ Read the blog ‘Where water is king’,
written by Rachel Hobley from The Flavour Narratives ︎

Our home and project. The house where we currently receive volunteers from allover the world.

If you have any questions, ideas & thoughts, or if you like to become a supporter or wish to collaborate with us, please write to hi@banihayounegarden.com.