SEKEM AL WAHAT

Greening The Desert

Our Vision

A Holistic Approach to Sustainable Development

We believe that greening the desert begins with fostering a vibrant community that embraces sustainable practices while enhancing cultural and social initiatives. Our goal is to regenerate 50,000 hectares of desert land through the following pillars:

Ecology

We support our farmers to adopt organic and biodynamic agricultural methods to combat desertification, address climate change, and improve water efficiency in farming.

Social Life

We are committed to building a sustainable community where individuals work, live, and grow together in harmony.

Culture

We believe that art and cultural activities play a vital role in human development and help individuals realize their full potential.

Economy

The project merges environmental sustainability with economic growth. Through our “Economy of Love” standard, we empower farmers during their transition to organic and biodynamic agriculture and improve their livelihoods through carbon credit trading.

SEKEM Al Wahat:
How it started

Nearly 50 years ago, SEKEM embarked on a remarkable journey in the untouched lands of the north-eastern Nile Delta, aiming to transform Egypt’s arid desert into fertile land suitable for organic agriculture, while fostering a vibrant community. Today, SEKEM has expanded to encompass five farms across Egypt, creating a thriving ecosystem where diverse plants and animals flourish alongside people from various cultural backgrounds who work, live, learn, and grow together.

The ongoing “Greening The Desert” project is central to our mission, tackling pressing issues such as climate change, water scarcity, and food security through innovative regenerative practice.

SEKEM Wahat
Creating out of nothing

According to this motto the SEKEM community started already in 1997 on the mother farm in the north eastern Nile Delta with the transformation of Egypts desert landscape to create new fertile land for organic agricultural use. Today, the SEKEM farm is a natural habitat for a vast number of flora and fauna and a place where people from different cultural backgrounds work, live, share, learn and develop together.

With the ongoing project Greening The Desert, SEKEM is facing the major challenges of today. In times of tremendous population growth, increasing air and water pollution, decreasing biodiversity, great climate change effects, unsecured jobs and social challenges, SEKEM wants to create a place that serves the needs of a sustainable community. This place is located 300km south west from Cairo and is called Wahat.

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The Fourth Phase has started

Until 01/01/2027

We have successfully completed the first three phases of the project, raising €1,100,000 in funding.

Now, we are excited to begin the fourth phase of the Greening the Desert Project. This new chapter brings new challenges, and we are ready to take them on!

Funding in progress

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Target Fund

Pivots

solar water pumps

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3rd Phase

Starts: 01.09.2022

After we successfully finished the 1st and 2nd phase with a 650.000€ funding for each, we’re starting now with confidence and joy, the 3rd phase.

Funding in progress

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How SEKEM Wahat
will look like in the future

Based on our vision for SEKEM Wahat we want to develop a self-sufficient community in which people from different cultural backgrounds come together to share the same mission.
With the implementation of our core program, we want to contribute to human development and to the unfolding of the individual potentials in the new community in SEKEM Wahat.
In 2020, we will continue with the conscious usage of precious resources of water, soil and energy. Therefore we choose pivots powered by solar systems to reclaim our 530 hectares of desert land and transform the desert to be a healthy living soil organism based on biodynamic principles.

Imagining SEKEM Al Wahat’s Future

We are committed to cultivating a self-sufficient community where individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds collaborate harmoniously towards a shared mission. Through the implementation of our cultural programs, we aim to foster human development and unlock the unique potential of each individual within this emerging community.

During the fourth phase, we will continue our dedicated efforts to utilize vital resources—water, soil, and energy—consciously and sustainably. To achieve this, we are expanding our pivot irrigation systems powered by solar energy, which will enable us to reclaim desert land and transform it into a thriving ecosystem through biodynamic practices.

Key Highlights of our Efforts

CORE PROGRAM

We believe that arts and culture can greatly enhance personal growth. At SEKEM Al Wahat, we focus on helping individuals develop through a variety of cultural activities and a holistic education that meets their unique needs.

In the fourth phase, we will continue to create spaces that encourage exploration, rather than relying solely on traditional educational models. This will promote teamwork among students and strengthen ties within the community.

HEALTHCARE

We recognize the profound connection between body, mind, and spirit. Through our integrative healthcare approach, we take a holistic view of each individual, carefully assessing and monitoring the health and well-being of our community members.

We are proud to have established a small health clinic at Al Wahat Farm, which serves as a vital resource for our community. In the fourth phase, we are excited to incorporate casual labor opportunities into our plans, further enhancing community engagement and support.

EDUCATION

At SEKEM Al Wahat, we have initiated the “Maho el omia” program to support illiterate employees which serves as a preparatory step for formal schooling.

Our efforts are driven by our belief in the transformative power of holistic education to unlock human potential. In the fourth phase, we are working on a new community school, designed with sustainability in mind, further enhancing educational opportunities for our community.

COMPOST PRODUCTION

“Brown Gold” is a term for compost that highlights its value in enriching sandy desert soil through biodynamic agriculture. By mixing organic matter with cow manure, we create compost that takes about three months to prepare. Each hectare of reclaimed desert land requires over 70 tons of compost in the first year, leading to a gradual transformation of the soil from sand to brown as fertility improves. For our initial 63 hectares, we used nearly 4,500 tons of compost.

In the fourth phase, we are continuing our experiment with basalt on one of our pivots to explore how it can enhance CO2 sequestration when added to compost in various proportions for different crops.

CROP SORTS

Biodiversity is essential for maintaining a vibrant and healthy ecosystem, which is why we are actively cultivating a diverse range of crops on our pivot fields. Additionally, to enhance soil health and conserve water and compost during the summer season, we have implemented green manure cover on some of our pivots.

During the fourth phase of our initiative, we are working towards increasing the production of jojoba and moringa.

SOLAR SYSTEM

We are committed to achieving carbon-negative agricultural practices. To address the energy-intensive nature of irrigation, each of our new pivots are equipped with solar systems that significantly reduce CO2 emissions associated with water pumping. This innovative approach not only improves the sustainability of our irrigation practices but also leverages biodynamic agriculture to address climate change.

In the fourth phase, we are planning to launch a renewable energy storage initiative that will enable our irrigation systems to operate on 100% renewable energy, even during nighttime.

LAND RECLAMATION

With 96% of Egypt’s land being arid, fertile land is a rare and valuable resource. In SEKEM Al Wahat, the “Farm 4 Climate” project has been launched to promote smart governance and agroecological carbon farming, resulting in the planting of 400,000 new trees.

Moving into the fourth phase, plans are underway to activate the Ecosystem Research Center in partnership with “Common Land” and the “4 Returns” framework, focusing on sustainable farming practices that will help meet Egypt’s food needs.

PIVOTS

A pivot irrigation system can water 20 hectares of land while using less energy. It also uses much less water compared to traditional irrigation methods commonly used in Egypt.

In the fourth phase, we plan to reclaim four more pivot systems to improve our water management and support sustainable farming practices.

Phases: One, two and three are completed!

We’re really grateful for all the amazing support!

Started: 01.01.19 – Finished: 31.12.24

Funding raised

Supporters

Reclaimed Desert land

Pivots

Solar Water Pumps

About the project: SEKEM Al Wahat – Greening the desert

In 2019, SEKEM launched the “Greening the Desert” Project in Al Wahat El-Bahariya Oasis with the goal of regenerating 50,000 hectares of desert land through regenerative practices such as organic and biodynamic farming. A central focus of this project is the application of innovative research methods aimed at optimizing water efficiency in agriculture. This includes the development of drought-resistant crop varieties, the implementation of irrigation water recycling, and the adoption of sub-surface and night irrigation techniques. Additionally, a tree-planting campaign has successfully resulted in the planting of 600,000 trees, which not only contributes to CO2 compensation but also enhances biodiversity through biodynamic practices.