High on Mount Boutmezguida in southwest Morocco, more than 4,000 feet above sea level, rows of black mesh stand directly in the path of Atlantic fog rolling through the Anti-Atlas Mountains. As the fog passes through the mesh, tiny droplets collect on the fibres, run downward and are gathered before being stored and carried through pipes to homes in nearby communities. The project is operated by Dar Si Hmad, a Moroccan nonprofit whose work with fog harvesting began in 2006, initially through a pilot effort to determine whether the region's persistent coastal fog could provide a dependable source of freshwater. The later system uses CloudFisher technology developed through partnerships involving Dar Si Hmad, FogQuest and technical partners, with about 600 square metres of mesh capable of producing roughly 6,300 litres of water a day. The network now supplies five villages in the Aït Baamrane region, where reliable freshwater has historically been difficult to access. Instead of travelling long distances to wells, some households can now receive water through taps supplied by moisture collected directly from the mountain air.
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