Many of the centuries-old mountain gardens of the Sinai mountains, which the Jebeliya tribe of Bedouin have used for generations to grow food for their families, have recently become derelict due to climate change. But despite these difficulties there is a desire from these people to restore their gardens, and their livelihoods.
Rainfall, which is scarce and vital for the survival of the gardens, has decreased over the last seven years. Preserving it carefully is crucial. With the aid of voluntary working groups from the UK, small dams are constructed in the wadis (valleys) which hold back the rainwater, allowing it to penetrate the diminishing water table.
In a crack in the mountain above Sala’s garden in Wadi Gibal there is an excellent site for a small dam. There are over 50 gardens in Wadi Gibal, many of which are now suffering through lack of water in their wells. This small dam will hold up the precious rainwater long enough for it to penetrate the water table allowing all the wells below to fill with up. The garden owner, Sala Mousa Sala, is an energetic man who loves his garden and has worked hard to keep it in good health for his children. When Sala’s dam is built, the water will provide a sustainable living for the 50 families who live there.
I will be going out on 26th November as a member of one of these voluntary groups. It is something alien to me, especially the flight and managing the heat! I see this as a way of helping those in great need to survive and maintain their livelihoods through our climate change. I would like to be able to raise £500 for the Makhad Trust, anything above this will be very much appreciated by the Trust.
£3,000 is enough to build a community dam which will benefit dozens of gardens lying in the valley below the dam. This is urgent and vital work. Please help them.
£10 will pay for one camel to transport materials to the site of the dam
£20 will pay for a Bedouin worker who you will work alongside.
UPDATE
I had a fantastic trip: physically, mentally and spiritually it was the greatest achievement of my life. With all the walking and rock climbing, I discovered muscles and determination that I didn’t know existed. The food was all prepared and cooked by the Bedouins; wonderful flavours including some sweet things to keep our energy levels up. We were up in the mountains at about 7,500 feet for five days where we built Sala’s Dam, which took three days. In order to build the Dam we used 3 tons of cement, about 12 tons of sand and approximately 200 tons of rock, boulders and stone, which all had to be moved by hand! We then moved down into the desert areas which were quite hot during the day. Every night we slept under the stars; one morning we awoke to find frost on our blankets! There were 12 of us in the group with a Bedouin leader who was as strong as an ox! When we went to the base camp in the desert we were taken up a huge sand dune in the hills at about 7:00pm in the moonlight, we just sat down and savoured the stillness and because of where we were and what we were doing, the tears just flowed down our cheeks. My eyes are running now just writing and thinking about it, I will have to keep some tissues by the side of the computer!!One of the days in the desert included a festival which brought together the leaders of 4 of the Bedouin Tribes; these tribes had not spoken to each other for over 100 years so it was quite a historic occasion. The Sheiks thanked the group for building the dam and we all felt very proud of our achievement. On the last night it was full moon and our leader suggested we sleep with a hat pulled over our eyes; he pointed up to the moon and said he could not turn the light off for us! I could go on writing about it for hours, but I need to bring myself down to earth; it was quite a shock going into a supermarket the day after I returned.
Thank you very much for all your support.
Alan
