Moroccan mosque powers village

The village of Tadmamet is just an hour′s drive south from the bustling city of Marrakesh in Morocco. But it′s a world apart. Nestled in the High Atlas mountains, its 400 inhabitants here are 40 km away from the nearest village and live a simple, rural lifestyle.

Yet last year Tadmamet made news: it became home to the first solar-powered mosque in the country built from scratch. The roof is covered in photovolaic solar panels, which produce so much energy, it doesn′t just power the mosque – and the house of the imam next door – but also parts of the greater village.

″It′s the first positive energy mosque in the country,″ says Jan-Christoph Kuntze of the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), a German government agency that provided support for the undertaking.

The Tadmamet mosque is unique, and it′s paving the way for other mosques of its kind. It′s part of the ′green mosque′ project, an initiative launched by the Moroccan government three years ago, which aims to reduce the energy use of public buildings – starting with the country′s 51,000 mosques.    (BBC Future)

Related articles on Qantara.de:

Energy from the Middle East and the Maghreb: Dreaming of Saharan solar power

Waste separation and recycling in Morocco: Morocco's recycling pioneers

Climate conference in Marrakesh: A golden opportunity?