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The M’Hamid Oasis Morocco film was invited for screening at the 2022 Al Sidr Environmental Film Festival in Abu Dhabi. The theme of the festival was “the oasis (paradox)”, representing hope amid remote and desolate desert landscapes. Directed by Monika Koeck, the film documents the restoration and documentation work carried out by ArCHIAM and the NGO Terrachidia in 2019, with direct involvement of the local community.

The film features Ouled Youssef, a traditional fortified settlement in the Moroccan Sahara, and the Marabout of Sidi Abdellah Khalifa, the burial place of a man respected and cherished by the local community. Here, ArCHIAM and Terrachidia ran an “Earthen Architectural Heritage Workshop” in which international participants were trained in restoration and documentation of traditional earthen architecture, and awareness was raised about the need to safeguard the cultural heritage of oasis environments from the threats of climate change, abandonment and uncontrolled development.