SAILORS OF THE DESERT

Activity developed by Moroccan artist Rachid Ouhni in the oasis of Tighmert during the worshop Warsha Sahara organised by Marsad Drâa.

It was a research about how children use the public space, for this reason, the artist asked the children what they do during their free time in the oasis and they answered ship races, so the next day they prepared it, in the middle of the desert...

the sailors

the spot

ships building

the research of water

the race

irrigation system

This activity discovered us the irrigation system of most of the oases in southern Morocco, with two calendriers, one during summer time with 34 days and another during the winter with 33 days. During 24h, people work diverting water from one canal to another, one day you can get water at 3pm and the next month it can be another day of the week and another time, maybe at 3am, that means there is a huge social interactivity thanks to the irrigation system. Even more, the economical organisation of the inhabitants depends on this organisation, as well as the urban planning because the last plot of the oasis to get water at the end of the day, will have the water remained in the canals, that is to say, they will have more water, that's the reason way those plots are more expensive, because they own more water.    

credit all images and videos: Carlos Perez Marin