For the community of Balana village, Aswan, a new addition to their village is bringing hope for the future: a unique microforest, cultivated by treated wastewater from the local wastewater treatment plant. The simple solution is addressing multiple crosscutting challenges in their community: inadequate sanitary infrastructure leading to sewage overflow, a scarcity of agricultural land, and a significant lack of green spaces amidst Aswan’s desert plains.
The team behind the wastewater microforest comprises four members of AKF staff in Egypt: Hanan El Guindy (CEO), Ahmed Mahmoud (Monitoring and Evaluation and Quality Assurance Manager), Mohamed Gamal (Agriculture, Food Security and Climate resilience Unit Lead), and Mohamed Salah (Agronomist). Through AKF’s Climate Innovation Challenge, they worked together with the residents of Balana to develop their revolutionary microforest solution.
“Here in Aswan, there is a real lack of greenery and a lack of agricultural lands because, although it sits alongside the Nile River, it has lots of desert areas and desert plains,” Mohamed Salah, who is an agronomist, explains. Not only does this affect the quality of life of Aswan’s communities, but it also places financial strain on the governorate and its residents. “Wood is not readily available in Egypt and is usually imported from other countries, making it very expensive,” Mohamed Gamal says.
The wastewater microforest solution involves planting diverse species of trees capable of thriving in Aswan’s arid climate. The trees contribute to local biodiversity and offer tangible economic opportunities through forest maintenance and wood harvesting. Crucially, by utilising wastewater, the forest will also address health concerns within the community. “The sanitary systems and infrastructure in Aswan are never enough to accommodate its citizens,” says Hanan, “the communities here are really suffering as a result.”
Overall, the approach promises to foster long-term sustainability and community resilience – and the response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive. Residents have actively participated in planting efforts, seeing the microforests as a symbol of hope for a greener, healthier future.
For Hanan, one community consultation was particularly memorable. “We met with the community and there was a group of young people with disabilities there, some of whom were non-verbal,” she recalls. During the meeting, she asked them whether they wanted this microforest and whether it would be helpful for them and “they gestured to me to show breathing easily,” Hanan explains, “without speaking, they were saying that the solution would be a source of oxygen to them. I needed no interpretation, no sign language to translate. It was clear what they were saying, and I found it very touching.”
But their journey was not without obstacles. Hanan says that their solution is “addressing a weakness in governorate implemented wastewater infrastructure, so we had to be very diplomatic and explain how the microforest will help the community.” Whilst the process was delicate, they were successful in the end – the local authorities have shown a lot of interest and “are looking forward to seeing how it progresses so they can either replicate it or work with us to replicate it in other places,” she says.
Moreover, Mohamed Salah recently received a call from the Egyptian Wood and Furniture Manufacturers Union, “recommending the types of trees that they want to donate to the forest,” he says. “This reflects the enthusiasm from the community at all levels.”
Community consultation was central to the wastewater microforests solution from the start. The team followed their usual approach of working with and through local civil society organisations, learning about the issues present in the community and what solutions might be most realistic, “We tried to find a solution from within our hands and build our expertise to respond,” explains Mohamed Salah.
Offering advice to others following a similar innovation journey, Mohamed Gamal says, “lean into solutions that are derived from the community itself – this really helped us to implement our microforest from the ground up, with the full buy-in of the community.”
Looking ahead, the team envisions expanding their microforest model beyond Balana village. “Within five years we have high expectations of this model,” says Mohamed Salah, “we want it to solve the real challenge of excessive wastewater and achieve self-sufficient wood production in Aswan as well.”
The team’s ‘microforest for better health’ as they describe it, exemplifies how innovation, rooted in community engagement and sustainable practices, can address complex climate challenges. Whilst it may be just one singular microforest for now, its impact promises to resonate far beyond Aswan, offering a blueprint for sustainable development in arid regions across Egypt.
