Giant nets harvest fog into drinking water for Moroccan villages

For generations, women in the dry Ait Baamrane region of southwest Morocco spent hours each day hauling heavy barrels of water across the mountains. A strikingly simple technology has changed that, and it was back in the spotlight in 2026 after gaining renewed attention through United Nations climate recognition: giant nets that comb drinking water straight out of the fog.

The system, run by the women-led organization Dar Si Hmad and operating since 2010, sits high on the slopes of Mount Boutmezguida. Large mesh nets are strung perpendicular to the wind that carries Atlantic fog inland. As the mist passes through, tiny droplets condense on the mesh, run down into gutters, and collect in storage tanks. The water is then filtered through UV, sand and cartridge systems and distributed via a solar-powered network to homes in the surrounding villages.

“A strikingly simple technology has changed that, and it was back in the spotlight in 2026 after gaining renewed attention through United Nations climate recognition: giant nets that comb drinking water straight out of the fog.”

The impact is both practical and deeply human. The project supplies an average of roughly 6,300 liters of potable water for more than 400 people across five villages, freeing women and girls from a daily burden that once consumed hours and sapped their strength. With taps closer to home, time once spent fetching water can go to school, work and family. The model has inspired similar fog-catching projects in Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico and Spain.

The honest caveats are clear. Fog harvesting depends on the right geography and weather; it works where coastal fog is reliable and reaches far less in places without it. The nets also need maintenance, and the volumes, while transformative for small communities, are modest compared with conventional supply. Even so, a low-cost, low-energy technology that pulls clean water from the air, run by and for the women who needed it most, is a powerful reminder that some of the best innovations are elegantly simple. As droughts deepen across North Africa, fog nets offer a hopeful, replicable path to water security.