FOGQUEST
Have you ever wondered how anything grows in a desert? Dr. Bob Schemenauer solved that mystery during his presentation on FogQuest, a project that brings water to the some of the most arid environs in the world.
In Falde Verde, Chile rainfall is <1mm / year! Yet with 10 fog collectors each producing up to 10L of water each 24 hour period, tomatoes and aloe vera are thriving!
In Tojquia, Chile 10 families now have usable / potable water through 1 or 2 collectors each.
In Eritrea, a small country in east Africa, fog collectors are providing water to children in schools.
In Iquiqua, a city of 250,000 people near Alto Patache, Chile, The EXPLORA PROJECT is active. The goal of EXPLORA is to educate young students in schools in the north of Chile on the important role that fog plays in providing water to their coastal ecosystems. This includes an appreciation of the plant, insect and animal life that is supported by the fog water. The students go by bus to the newly inaugurated Atacama Desert Center where they participate in field work and lectures.
FogQuest agreed to play an important part in the EXPLORA project by funding and constructing a large fog collector (LFC), water storage tank, drip irrigation system, and small greenhouse. Thanks for FogQuest and the funding from the Aurora Club, this project sees up to 400L of water captured by 1 fog collector which is 4m x 10m in size in one night.
A greenhouse / experimental farm located about 1km away from the collectors grows atriplex (shrub eaten by goats), orange and olive trees, and casuarina (a shade shrub that, by 2 years of age, will collect enough fog droplets to be able to thrive outside the greenhouse).
SO, HOW DOES ANYTHING GROW IN THE DESERT? Plants collect fog droplets (read: 'rime frost' in our winter climate!) and this moisture drips to the ground, providing water for other plants! Mystery solved! Our most sincere t hanks to Dr. Schemenauer! FMI: www.fogquest.org or info@fogquest.org