remain vital for ventilation and mainte - nance. Seen from above, they appear as a chain of dots across the desert. The underground tunnel itself is modest: typically 0.5 to 1 metre wide and about 1.2 to 1.8 metres high - just enough for a worker to move through. Despite its scale, this narrow passage can carry water over extraordinary distances. By the time the water reaches the surface,
it emerges into irrigation channels, feed- ing palm groves, crops and homes. In Fezna and the wider Tafilalt region, these systems were - and in some cases still are - the foundation of life. Importantly, khettaras were managed collectively. Groups such as the Amazigh, including the Ait Atta and Ait Khebbach, as well as Haratin communities, shared water through carefully regulated time- based rights. What makes the khettaras remarkable is their efficiency. Without machinery, they harness geology and gravity to move water across distance. Today, many have fallen into disrepair, yet they remain a reminder of human ingenuity - working with the landscape, not against it, to sustain life in one of the world’s harshest environments.
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For all your agricultural, building, hardware and gardening needs.
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