Al Baydha Project

The Al Baydha Project, in rural, western Saudi Arabia, is a land restoration, poverty-alleviation, and heritage preservation program, based on principles of permacultural and hydrological design. Located roughly 50 kilometers (20 miles) south of Mecca, in Makkah Province, Al Baydha is an area characterized by the rocky, arid, foothills of the Hijaz Mountains. Bedouin tribes are the major residents of this region.[1][2]

Founded in 2010, and led by permaculturist Neal Spackman[3] and Co-Founder Mona Hamdy,[4] Al Baydha has begun to see practical and ecological results (shown here).[5]

Most notably, Al Baydha's emphasis is on rainwater harvesting, through utilization of rock terraces and gabions (or small check dams), as well as catchment of runoff into swale lines. These support afforestation of drought-resistant trees, such as date palms, in the natural landscape. Another focus of the program is on slowing down flash floods in the highlands, and, over time, converting them into seasonal streams or wadis, as shown here. In the long-term future, Al Baydha hopes to transform the region into a savanna ecosystem, in part, by means of assisted natural regeneration, conservation grazing, and the effects of evapotranspiration and atmospheric moisture recycling.[6][7]

A similar project, overseen by permaculturist Geoff Lawton (who helped start Al Baydha), has already achieved success in Wadi Rum, in southern Jordan.[8]

For a video demonstration of these hydrological design techniques, with actual footage from the Al Baydha project, click here.

For a general introduction to the project, presented by Neal Spackman, click here.

See also

References

  1. ↑ https://permacultureglobal.org/projects/286-al-baydha-project
  2. ↑ http://permaculturenews.org/2010/11/18/permaculture-in-mecca/
  3. ↑ http://permacultureglobal.org/users/1234-neal-spackman
  4. ↑ http://www.thnk.org/people-of-thnk/person/mona-hamdy/
  5. ↑ http://permaculturenews.org/2011/01/14/permaculture-at-the-al-baydha-project-in-saudi-arabia-neal-spackman-video-1/
  6. ↑ http://permaculturenews.org/2012/11/09/planting-days-are-here-al-baydha-saudi-arabia/
  7. ↑ http://www.permies.com/t/40248/desert/months-growth-swales-Saudi-Arabia
  8. ↑ http://permaculturenews.org/2014/02/01/desert-oasis-4-years-jordan/

External links


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