Evening falls, at the
edge of the Sahara. Wind drives wispy clouds. And then a small miracle occurs. Clouds release water.
Without any rain. Peter Trautwein invented
these "cloud catchers". I've done so many projects in my
life. And had so much luck in my life. I thought to myself, with my
knowledge, what can I give back? How did I find this story? Initially, I wanted to try a
special beer on Gran Canaria. It’s brewed with water
from cloud catchers. It's made from water
droplets that have traveled almost halfway around the world. That’s where I first heard
about Peter Trautwein. Now, after four years
away, he’s back here. At the edge of the Sahara. To see whether his nets
have delivered on his promise: to supply 16 villages
with drinking water. I’m Sebastian Kisters. I report for
Germany’s public broadcaster ARD, from northwest Africa and Spain. This year’s drought was extreme. It's the first time I've reported
on people fighting over water. And on cities - like Barcelona – that simply wouldn’t make
it, without desalination plants. I reported on how prices
skyrocket, when the harvest fails. And, I reported on beer
made from cloud water. That was the starting
point for this story. A journey that takes me first to
Morocco. To the edge of the Sahara. Drinking water
captured from clouds – could this be a viable solution,
in times of climate change? Good news amidst all the bad? We stop in a village in
the south of Morocco. Peter Trautwein brought cloud
catchers here several years ago. Now, he wants to see
what they’ve changed. Locals tell us that some years, it
only really rains here once or twice. The whole year. But now, Peter's nets
are on top of the mountain. And down below, this cistern. Here, the cloud
water is collected. Just a little! Yes, the water has already
run down. To the villages. 200 cubic meters of
water can be held, here. The cistern is
divided into two parts. At the front there is
space for sediment, so there is a kind
of natural filter. Then it goes into the second cistern.
And it runs down to the villages. Peter Trautwein is
an industrial designer who created tennis
rackets and ski boots. Then came his 50th birthday. I've spent my life
designing products and now I'd like to design
a product where the focus is primarily on people. Creating a project with people, for people, is a completely
different experience. Working for free, giving something
without getting anything in return, is also an experience. So, it is definitely the project I
have benefited the most from, in my life. Where I have given a
lot, but also received a lot, in terms of appreciation. This is also made in Morocco? Locals like Mounir are
now running the project. Peter Trautwein financed the
construction with various grants – from foundations,
and other programs. We worked for two years
to check different meshes. Flat fabric, Enox,
and spacer fabric. And we changed every two months and sent the data to the
technical university of Munich. And after two years we decided
to continue with the spacer fabric. For one year? Two years! I need two things to
collect water from fog: One is an air current. Ideally, it should be between
five and ten meters per second. And I need water droplets in the fog
that are 20 to 40 micrometers in size. That’s roughly the
cross-section of a hair. So now we wait. For clouds, for fog. Tiny droplets that
get caught in the nets. Further west – on
the Atlantic coast – it looks as if something might
be coming towards the nets. Clouds are gathering. We travel further west, for now. To
Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands. A climatologist here has been
researching cloud catchers for a good 30 years. She looks at how – and WHERE – water can be extracted from clouds.
Without a drop of rain falling. As in Morocco, the lack of precipitation
is a fact of life on Tenerife. Victoria Marzol looks
to nature, for clues. She also worked for Peter
Trautwein's project in Morocco. Victoria searches for
mosses and lichens. She finds traces on
bushes and stones. What signs indicate there could
be tiny water droplets in the air? There are some of these
signs here. There, for example! And these lichens are
also found in Morocco? Yes, that's right. And in
Morocco there's also this. Look: That's exactly what we have in
Morocco! A different kind of lichen. It grows where clouds meet the
stone, where tiny droplets collect. They're very dry at the moment. Really dry! But normally they show perfectly
where cloud catchers are worthwhile. And she wants to show me more. Look at that tree! A very clear sign. These lichens show exactly which
direction moisture is coming from. Another important thing for us
is the altitude above sea level. You don't get cloud water below
600 meters – only at higher altitudes. And the shape of
the terrain is key, too. Wind and water droplets must
be able to flow, and be in motion. If anything blocks them,
you can't catch any droplets. They started here 30 years
ago, with very simple nets. The technology Peter uses
in Morocco is more robust. His nets have an extra layer. Looks more like two. Yes! These nets here are simpler. But they get the job
done, Victoria says. They catch cloud water. The reservoir is quite full. Some time ago, there wasn't a single
tree here! It's all been reforested. Everything? Reforested
with water from clouds? Yes! We even point it
out to hikers with signs! Lucky that this
knowledge exists, I think. Because reforestation with
cloud water is something Tenerife could really use. Recently, there was a fire
at the other end of the island. And what a fire! An area some seven times
the size of Frankfurt Airport was reduced to ashes. I have to think of Irene,
while I’m up here, too. I met her at a
demonstration in the spring. That was in March, on the
mainland. South of Madrid, in Toledo. People had taken to the streets. Because they didn't
want to give up their water. I asked Irene what
she was afraid of. Our environment
will get worse again. There will probably be
more forest fires again. They started earlier
than ever before. More will come. It will be another sad year. People keep saying that further
water restrictions are to be expected. That affects us. But it also affects
all of nature. We are losing quality of life. In Toledo, the big concern was about
the longest river in Spain: the Tagus. ‘It should live’ -
says this poster. And: "No to the canal, stop the mafia!"
"For a living river and not a canal!" What people are so upset about is a canal that pumps river
water from here, to the south. It's like Frankfurt on the Main having
to send its water to supply Munich. In Spain, the river
Tagus is tapped, to pump its water over
300 kilometers to the south. To the driest region in Spain. The water is then used to
irrigate fruit and vegetables, which later end up in
German supermarkets. The people from the center
of Spain say: No more. Here, too, it is
now far too dry. The sign around Irene's neck
reads: Less irrigation, more life. Water shortages - even in spring. I
wonder, could cloud catchers help? Back on the edge of the desert
in Morocco. Evening has fallen. The clouds are here.
They move through the nets. And then: Water. Drop
by drop. Without any rain. Peter Trautwein seems
happy with his nets. The collecting troughs
fill up with cloud water. On average, 37,000 liters
of water end up in the cistern, when clouds and fog pass
through the nets for a whole night. Water shortages are an
everyday occurrence for people here in south-western Morocco. And it's getting
worse, say experts. As in so many places. Around two billion
people around the world have no safe access to drinking water. What could the cloud
catchers change? Is the water reaching
families in villages? And how does it
affect their lives? Here, we’re are talking
about 1,300 people, living in an extremely
rain-poor region. But a severe lack of precipitation is
no longer limited to the north Africa. Large parts of Spain
could become deserts. The clock is ticking
here in Valladolid. Many trees are dying because
they can no longer cope with the increasing drought. New trees must
be planted quickly. If there are no
regeneration processes here and the climate develops
as it seems to be doing, many more trees will
die and we could end up with a steppe-like landscape. With just a few trees left. Here in Valladolid there
are many continental dunes. That means: sand that
is moved by the wind. These dunes are
fortified by the bush. If there were no trees, these
sand dunes would migrate, and take over parts
of agricultural land. Or areas near villages. Sandy hills that could
take on a life of their own. A horror scenario
for the people here. Desertification. That's what
they want to prevent in Valladolid. With new trees. And, I wonder: what
about cloud catchers? Could they help? I show the ecologists pictures from
my trips to Morocco and Tenerife. "Yes," they say, "it would
be nice to get water that way. To help the trees
grow a bit bigger." They would have
considered it, they say. Except for one problem: conditions here are very
different than on Tenerife. We've seen less and less fog
in recent years and decades. How many days? Oh! This year there were
two or three foggy days. Last year there
were five or six. Years ago - when we were kids
- there were entire months of fog. All of November! So they just have
to rely on rain, here. Rain that failed to
materialize this spring. Like in so many places in Spain. So they have to hope that
the sand will stay where it is. Held in place by the new trees. We need rain. And it
mustn't get too hot in summer. That’s perhaps the most
critical part of reforestation in these very, very dry areas. It won't be an easy year for
the little trees with a huge task: preventing tons of sand, an inland
dune, from a destructive migration. What isn’t an option
for people in Valladolid is currently part of an
experiment in Gran Canaria. Reforestation using cloud water. The trade winds regularly drive clouds
onto the island's mountain slopes. So it seems to be a good
place to catch water droplets. Some are still visible in the morning,
just after the clouds have dispersed, and the sun has
risen on Gran Canaria. This wind brings hope to
the dry island. Hope, and beer. Does this taste good? Yes! The beer is called "Seaclouds. "Salute" This was my introduction
to cloud water. The fog was caught
on the mountains here. Water droplets that have traveled
almost halfway around the world. A year ago now. Back then, I interviewed Canary
Islands ecologist Eugenio Reyes. Of course, this was
about more than just beer. Namely, the urgent need to develop
new water resources on Gran Canaria. The island is a popular
travel destination in winter. Eugenio was born
here. In the mountains. I used to work here as a farmer.
But there is no more water. And when it does rain, it
washes away the fertile soil. Eugenio took me to a
reservoir on the island. A vast emptiness. We met people from the water
department. Is this normal here? This is not normal! No. The lake should be full
every five to six years. But due to climate change, that
hasn't happened for ten years. We no longer have enough rain
here. The situation is worrying. We now require 16
percent of our electricity on the island to get water. Electricity for pumps
and desalination plants. 16 percent - so much electricity, just
to get water! It all scares Eugenio. Either we act, or we're
heading for a water collapse. What we are experiencing
is not just a climate collapse in the sense that the seas are rising,
but here in these areas of the planet, around the 28th parallel, the entire subtropical zone is seriously heading
towards desertification. Now they are betting on an experiment,
in the north of the island. Cloud water is used for
reforestation on Gran Canaria. A forest fire has raged
here. But now there is hope. In a year, they have collected tens of thousands
of liters of water on this mountain – using cloud catchers. A quick test: the
reservoirs are full. They use the water to
grow 3,000 young trees. Biologist Francisco
González shows me. You use the water
from up there for this? Sure, everything we
caught. No problem! Later, some of the little trees
get their own little cloud catchers. Probes in the ground show
whether the experiment is successful. How does it work? We compare moisture in the soil. And there are different values! Water is trapped in here.
Through these cages with nets. We measure a higher humidity
inside than outside the nets. That works? Yes, it works! How simple! Small cages catch cloud
water for the young plants. Ideally, the north of the
island should remain green. No more soil
washing into the sea. And water to brew beer... This is what engineer
Ricardo Gil catches. Also in the north of Gran Canaria. Not
far from the reforestation experiment. He developed all the boxes himself
and believes in their potential. Do these cloud catchers actually work,
more or less, all over the world? Everywhere we have wind and fog. Look: Chile - in the Atacama Desert,
Peru on the coast, Colombia, Panama, Mexico, Ecuador. In many places around the world. Also on the Iberian Peninsula, in
France, Germany, Great Britain. Here - on Gran Canaria – Ricardo extracts thousands
of liters of water in a year. This is purified - and
sold as drinking water. Cloud water - it's a luxury item. We sell the water in France and
Italy. And France sends it to Qatar. And this is also available in
gourmet stores and restaurants in the Canary Islands. And how much does one cost? The one here... About two euros. And
the one sold in France is 9.50 euros. How much? 9.50 euros. Yes, they are expensive.
That's the best premium water. Luxury water. Or beer from clouds.
That's a long way off in Morocco. Here, people are happy
to have water at all. Fatma is cooking couscous today. Daughter Hasna
washes the vegetables. This is beautiful! What can I say?
We turn on the tap and there's water. Without suffering, without
having to make a terrible effort. Without having to think
about where to get the donkey, or the containers
to carry the water. While the food is cooking,
Mounir wants to show us where people
used to fetch water. The well - on the
edge of the village. You had to have time. At
least three or four hours. Because it was clear that there
would be a queue to get to the water. There were always lots of people here.
But now we have the cloud catchers! People have water,
they have taps. And they have a lot of
time to do other things. For example... school? For example, the
girls go to school. Now you can turn on the tap and
pour as much water as you want. Before, we were only
allowed to use a little! We had to fetch water
three to four times a day. And when we ran out, we had
to think about where to get it. That's a big difference, to now. But to ensure that the cloud
water is not wasted, it costs money. Families buy prepaid
cards - just like for phones. Then, the number of liters they have
paid for are released to their homes. The people from the
villages manage this, along with the organization
that is now overseeing the project. Mounir is part of
this organization. During my visit here, I realize that water’s importance
becomes clear when it’s missing. But you see it even more, when water arrives in a place
where it used to be scarce. Brahim's pride and
joy: a washing machine. Water changes everything.
It's like saying: Today is Eid! Not just Saturday or Sunday. Today is Eid! It's
actually only once a year, but for us it feels like
it's all the time now! With that, he disappears
into the kitchen. He wants to show me what his
wife and daughter are preparing. Chicken with couscous. And
with it, freshly washed vegetables. The family is quite
proud of their new life. In their tradition, only the head of the family
and his guests eat together. The Cloudcatcher team, and us. Peter Trautwein, the man who
brought the water to the villages, connects with everyone. But Morocco is
not his only focus. Right now, he’s getting calls
from arid regions around the world. Well, I've noticed that
the number of inquiries has increased
significantly this year. It’s always different. This is perhaps also
related to periods of drought. At the moment, most inquiries are
coming from Somalia, Oman and Namibia. But also from Europe. Northern Italy, for example,
is severely affected by drought. I'm even talking to the water
management authority in Piedmont. Portugal is very badly
affected, that's a perennial issue. I have the feeling that the inquiries
are increasing from year to year. And we get them everyday. An idea prompted by his 50th birthday
has now become a small company. He’s named it “Cloud Fisher”. On Tenerife, climate
researcher Victoria Marzol is testing which nets are most
effective for extracting droplets from passing clouds. So far, the winner is Peter
Trautwein's mesh from Morocco. It's three-dimensional,
with lots of fibers. And the droplets stick to these
threads, then slowly drip down. With this other one, there is a
greater distance between the fibers, so fewer droplets get caught and the
wind carries them away more easily. In addition, the nets in
Morocco have a second fabric made of hard plastic
fibers behind them. This prevents the mesh from
inflating when the wind blows. This makes it easier for the water to make its way into
the collection channel. What motivates you? I could say, ‘that I'm
crazy.’ But that's not true. The question is, what role does this sea of clouds
play in the island's water balance? We only ever measure rain. But we don't have any values
for the moisture that the fog brings. And this water is very
important for the island! Water from clouds
– without any rain. Victoria believes that this
research is only just beginning. But time is running out. Tourism consumes a lot of water. And 80 percent is
used by agriculture! Huge consumers include areas
where tropical fruit is grown. Bananas, for example. Or avocados, mangoes.
They consume so much water! Tenerife, like all
the Canary Islands, lives off water from
desalination plants. There are more than
800 in the whole of Spain... There are more than 200
on the Canary Islands alone! Back to the Spanish mainland. Unless alternative water
sources can be tapped – or a massive amount
of water conserved – Spain will depend
on desalination plants. Where there is a lack of rain, these plants are the most common
method of obtaining drinking water. One of the largest
plants in the country – south of Murcia on the mainland. Water from the sea is
purified, and salt is removed. Using a great deal of energy. This plant produces 180,000
cubic meters of water a day, or 180 million liters. That's enough for how
many people a day? If this water was only
used for human needs – then a million people
could live on it every day. That's a lot. Here, in the pink pipes, water
that still needs to be treated flows. Blue pipes mean:
Desalinated water flows here. And where are we, here? This is the heart of
the desalination plant. There are membranes in these
white pipes, and under pressure, we produce desalinated water
that is of drinking water quality. "Salud!" Tastes normal. Good!? Good. Normal. What percentage of the water
here is used for agriculture? 95 percent of the
water is for the farmers. 95 percent? 95 percent! More or less everything. Not everywhere,
but in this plant, yes. What do they do with it?
It's practically a desert here! Tomatoes are grown here,
cucumbers, lettuce. Poinsettias. Poinsettias? Yes, lots of them! For Germany? Possibly. You'll end up desalinating
water here for Germany. Indirectly, you can say that. Tens of millions of
liters of water a day. So that poinsettias can grow
in this bone-dry part of Spain. Some farmers say: This is crazy. We're not going
to do it anymore. Like almond grower Miguel. He wants to show me how land
could be farmed more sustainably, with little rain. Agriculture today
is very intensive. Areas are cultivated several
times a year, and plowed deeply. That's not good for
storing water in the soil. We have to ensure
that they can regenerate. That soil becomes like a
sponge and stores water. One way we do this is by using a lot
of organic material. A kind of mulch. Like here. This ensures
that water remains in the soil. It also changes the
structure of the soil. The first 20 or 30
centimetres of the soil used to be like sand on the beach. Very permeable. Now we have a
completely different, much better structure, roots and
plant material, that stores rainwater. It is the beginning of a
possible change to the endless, barren almond plantations. Miguel is convinced
that this is the future. And the best way to save both the soil
and agriculture in Spain’s dry south. He is currently sowing
herbs between his trees. And that's not all… There's lavender here. Why? There are several reasons. You can make lavender
oil or distillate from it. And it draws insects, which
we need here for pollination. It's also about biodiversity. And about preventing erosion.
And to break up this monoculture. Then, Miguel tells me that they have
thought about using cloud catchers. Down here, in this area,
there's often fog in the morning. From September to February,
March. A few hours of fog. So cloud catchers
might work here? Well, it is an option. To use
this humidity. For some projects. For example, reforestation, in
areas where there is little water. Or in areas where pumping
water in would be very expensive. Yes, it is a possibility. That’s just what they
are doing in Gran Canaria: Reforestation with cloud water. Nine months after our
first visit, we are back. And the first thing we see is a
very different kind of cloud catcher. Inspired by conifers. We are just imitating nature. And
this needle form is very effective. We imitate nature in
the way it collects water. We then direct it towards
the ground, and collect it. How much do you
get out of it in a year? in a collection system like this,
570 liters per square meter per year. And with these
cloud catcher boxes, the biologists collect even
more water for reforestation. But Paco: If water is caught
here, isn't it missing elsewhere? Absolutely not. We only catch
what would naturally get caught. On bushes, for example.
Otherwise it would evaporate. And now I want to see what
has become of the young trees, with their own
little cloud catchers. Is it still working? Perfectly, actually. The
trapped water droplets work. Look at how different
the sizes of the trees are. The same species, planted at
the same time, in the same place. Paco González has
another appointment. On the Pico de las Nieves,
Gran Canaria's highest mountain. With the military. We
are allowed to join him. You also use these
cloud catchers now. How much tap water
do you save? A third? It's a pilot project: we now have
12 of these boxes to start with. To cover 100 percent of our water
needs up here, we would need 36. We use it in the buildings.
Not yet as drinking water. But to cook food,
and in the bathroom. They save energy, because
less water has to be pumped up. The United Nations
says we need new ideas in the fight against
water shortages. Like cloud catchers. Fog net technology, which is
actually only just getting started, can become much more
efficient in the future. And it will. I am
convinced of that. Mounir has done further research into where cloud catchers
could be worthwhile. Look, that mountain over
there. We experimented there. We were able to collect an
average of 45 liters of water per square meter of net per day. At the old site it's 23.
We're doubling the yield. Catching drops of water
from clouds may not be a solution for the whole world. But it can help save
entire landscapes. And for some, it
can change lives.