Vegetables, Hope & Resistance in the Sahara Desert
A special blog post from Donatella, SPCA member.
It was hot and dusty, as was the bus I had just arrived in. I was in the Sahara desert visiting the refugee camps of the Western Saharan people, the Saharawis, in western Algeria. The land was flat, stony, sandy, with the sun beating down strongly, even in February.
Image description: A map shows the north-western corner of the continent of Africa. Western Sahara is coloured in two shades of yellow. The lighter tone represents Moroccan-controlled territory, while a deeper yellow represents Polisario-controlled territory. To the east, Algeria and Mauritania are white. To the north, Morocco is a sandy colour. Labels read ‘Guerguerat (border crossing) in the southwestern corner, and Laayoune in the northwest.
Source: BBC
Image description: A barren spread of sand with a winding driving path fills the bottom half of the image. A small huddle of construction materials sit to the left of the path. Further in the distance are low, white buildings and a parking lot to the right of the path. A telephone wire cuts across a deep blue sky.
I went there to visit a vegetable growing project set up 4 years ago by a Saharawi woman, Fatimalu, who wanted to grow fresh vegetables to improve the nutrition of her fellow refugees. She has been supported in her ‘Growing Hope Project’ by some friends in Manchester, and we were travelling together to visit the farm, joining a larger group of people from all over the world who wanted to run the Sahara Marathon 2025 and show solidarity with the Saharawi people in their struggle to achieve independence and autonomy. The country had been colonised by Spain, gaining independence finally in 1976, but then Morocco claimed it as their southern state against the wishes of the people. War has continued, ceasefires have been broken, UN resolutions have been ignored, and more than 170,000 refugees continue living in camps first established 49 years ago in the Sahara desert, waiting for the world to support their demand to govern their own lives and their own country. In the meantime, life in the parched, sandy expanse in the Algerian desert continues.
Image description: A sandy ground is textured with footprints and tire marks stretching into the horizon. Sand-coloured stone buildings stand in the background. Wooden poles enclose part of the property. Telephone wires runs across the sky at early dusk.
Fatimalu’s growing project is located near the edge of one of the 5 refugee camps. It moved after a year to a better 16 acre site with an old well which could be dug out to reach down to underground water, with the first harvest in September 2022. The World Food Programme provides some basic staples to families e.g. oil, lentils, rice, flour, but the amount has decreased due to less funding and because food prices have increased, and there is a severe lack of fresh fruit and vegetables resulting in poor nutrition. The vegetables from the project are sold at affordable prices and so supplement and improve the diet of local refugee families; prices are reduced or some vegetables are donated to those most in need, children, pregnant women and nursing mothers. They run their own small shop one day a week and in 2023 managed to cover 75% of the running costs through the sale of vegetables. This year the water pump broke and winds have damaged the polytunnel, so it will be less.
Image description: Lush bushes are lined in rows across the foreground. In the middle of the image, several people stand in front of the polytunnel. Acacia trees dot the background behind the polytunnel.
There are 2 growing seasons, the first is planted in September and harvested in February/March. They have grown tomatoes, cucumbers and sweet peppers inside the polytunnel, and onions, carrots, courgettes turnips, aubergines, spinach, lettuce, celery tops, parsley, coriander, and mint. The second season of melons and watermelons is planted in February and harvested in May.
Image description: A large stone well sits in the sand, with a large rod running across it. Several bushes have grown behind it. Rows of green crops line the horizon near a stone house.
Image description: Inside of the polytunnel, enclosed in a greenish yellow tarp. Tall vegetable plants are lined up, with yellow poles at their centres rising up to the tarp.
So, they have reinstated the well, built a 10m² reservoir to improve water quality and pump efficiency. They bought a water pump which needed to be replaced, irrigation pipes, fencing, built a polytunnel and a small house for the site supervisor, and are now planting trees to form a barrier to protect from the strong winds that blow through the desert. Currently there are four full-time members in the team.
This green, fertile, oasis in the middle of the stone and sandy expanse, with butterflies and birds visiting, was impressive. It shows the strength and resilience of the Saharawi people insisting that they are entitled to their independence, and Fatimalu and her colleagues working in the garden. I felt so privileged to visit.
Image description: A woman stands in the right corner of the image, holding a potted plant and dressed in dark fabrics that covers her from the top of her head to her feet. She is wearing dark sunglasses and smiling. She stands under a bamboo roof with green and white root vegetables on a blanket before her. Behind her is an expanse of crops.
You can find out more & see a video about the project at https://growhopesahrawi.org.uk/sahara-marathon-2025 (click on the ‘Growing Hope Vegetable Project’ link to find the video).
You can also watch a longer video about Western Sahara and life, problems and hopes in the camps, from the Sandblast project which supports an education initiative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6Sz0RHpC20
Special thank you to Donatella for sharing her account of this meaningful experience. If you have a story that you’d like us to share with the community, please get in touch at marketing@spca.org.uk.
