Water. How this basic resource is taken for granted. Water feeds the vegetables which Said’s father is lovingly growing on the L’Amandier site, water brings the cement to life, water quenches the thirst of our building team who work from the moment the sun hits the land to the moment it dips behind the mountain. It’s more powerful than anything and impacts almost everything. Without it, the land is useless.

6 years ago, we bought this piece of land knowing that there was a possibility that there may not be water below our feet. This made the purchase pretty speculative, basing our decision primarily on its outstanding position within one of the most beautiful landscapes we had come across. But risk analysis on water is tricky, it’s either there or it’s not.  If it’s not, then you either pump it in or throw in the towel.

So, after some research by our man on the inside, Said, we identified a highly recommended diviner, who had worked throughout the world for the Moroccan and French governments to source water. He seemed to be the man for the job and a meeting was arranged.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I know it wasn’t what I got. We picked up an elderly man in a long blue cotton gown from his very simple home on the outskirts of Marrakech. He was extremely quiet and gentle. He seemed tired. He brought no technical instruments, in fact, no instruments at all, apart from his two sticks.

We arrived at the land, and without a word he set about his work. Initially he paced the length and width of the land, muttering quietly to himself. Occasionally he stopped and looked intently at the ground, almost as if he could see right through it. It crossed my mind, more than once, that this was all a bit abstract and frankly improbable. But this was no second hand car salesman or management consultant earning a fee, this was a simple man deeply involved in his work. So, we all stood back and watched in helpless curiosity.

Then came the sticks. He seemed to have identified the area of interest before getting a second opinion from these very ordinary looking tools. He walked a few steps, seemed to lose his footing and then broke out into convulsions. I became a child biting his lip, it certainly didn’t seem appropriate to laugh, but my choices of response were limited. This was all new territory for me. Then concern set in and at one point it crossed my mind that it would take an ambulance at least 40 minutes to reach us. We managed to remain composed and caught slightly awkward and bewildered glances of each other while this theatre unfolded in front of us.

Then, as quickly as the commotion started, it stopped, followed almost immediately by a flurry of questions in Arabic. As usual everyone seemed to be shouting at each other at the same time, while I looked on, very much from the outside. Our diviner responded to these questions with a few gentle words. ‘Yes, you have water and a lot of it. It’s 90 meters down and is deep’. He was exactly right.

This quiet elderly man in the blue gown found our water. He started this journey for us.

Related posts:

1. My first trip to the site (I get to see what all the fuss is about)
2. MHK International Ltd was born
3. No longer homeless!