The Sous Valley is Spiralweb's dryland demonstration node — 80 hectares of degraded land being transformed into a syntropic food forest, held by Abdelhamid Badaoui and a forming stewardship group. The water reservoir is full. The work begins now.
The site holds existing pomegranate trees planted by the state around 2015, now eleven years old. They have not been producing — not because pomegranates cannot grow here, but because they were planted into depleted soil without water retention infrastructure, without succession design, and without ongoing stewardship. The state planted and left.
What the site also holds: a full water reservoir following exceptional winter rainfall. Sheep, goats, and beehives already integrated into the land. A forming stewardship group with parcels ranging from 2 to 80 hectares. A five-year working relationship with Planetary Guardians. Spring bloom across the fields — a signal that the biological potential is there.
The trees are not the problem. They are the first incomplete chapter of a food forest that was never given its next layer. — PG RAPID Protocol, Badaoui Food Forest Initiative, February 2026
The Sous Valley carries a specific combination: severe enough to be credible as a dryland restoration site, and rich enough in existing assets to be achievable. It demonstrates something the current policy paradigm does not: that reduced water consumption and increased productivity are not contradictory — they are the same goal, achievable through succession design.
The bioregional climax species here is Argania spinosa — the argan tree, a UNESCO-recognised species whose natural range is the Sous Valley itself. Argan oil is one of the world's most valuable plant oils, held through established women's cooperatives with direct international market access. The argan forest is not an imported ambition. It is what the Sous Valley tends toward when conditions allow. The food forest is the path there.
At a larger scale: there are millions of state-planted trees across Morocco's dryland regions that are not producing. The Badaoui pilot tests whether governance, succession design, and steward support can make that stranded investment productive. If it works here, and if it is documented honestly, it becomes the reference for the next hundred sites.
Swale systems along contour lines. Native pioneer grasses planted in thinned zones between pomegranate trees. Mulching from regular chop-and-drop cycles. Glacial rock flour application on the pilot area. Monthly observation of soil cover, water infiltration, and soil biology signals.
Syntropic multi-layer design building around the existing pomegranate structure: moringa, fig, carob, almond, quince in the upper layer; artichoke, aloe, aromatic herbs in the ground layer; argania seedlings planted in protected microclimates for the 10–15 year horizon. The pomegranate trees become productive as soil conditions improve.
Simple guest rooms in local materials. Farm-sourced meals. Workshop space for visiting farmers, researchers, and practitioners. The learning centre is not a luxury — it is the income that finances the food forest expansion. Planned for Phase 2.
These are the native C4 pioneer grasses that will be established in the thinned zones during Phase 1. They build soil, hold water, produce mulch biomass, and give way naturally to woody succession as shade increases.
| Phase | Period | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 0 | Now — May 2026 | Baseline: GPS mapping, soil tests, tree assessment, water measurement, weekly fixed-point photography. Group governance meeting. |
| Phase 1 | May — Oct 2026 | Pilot 2 ha: first swales, pioneer grasses planted, 500+ trees, drip irrigation from reservoir. GRF applied to test area. |
| Phase 2 | Nov 2026 — May 2027 | Expansion to 8 ha. Group partner parcels integrated. First guest building constructed. |
| Phase 3 | 2027–2028 | 20–40 ha food forest. Guest centre active. First harvests: honey, herbs, moringa, fruit. |
| Phase 4 | 2029–2030 | Full food forest potential. Carbon documentation verified. Replication model available. |
From Phase 0, the PG Ledger documents eight categories monthly at this site:
Three Morocco-specific observations are added: reservoir level monthly, esparto coverage as a soil-building proxy, and the first spontaneous argan seedling — which, when it comes, will signal that the system is ready for Phase 3 planting.
Abdelhamid photographs and maps all pomegranate trees before end of April 2026. The water reservoir is measured. The stewardship group assembles for its first governance meeting. The 2-hectare pilot area is identified. Phase 0 begins.
This page will grow as field notes, observation logs, and documentation are verified and ready to share. Spiralweb publishes only what it can hold with care.
The Sous Valley node is part of a bioregional cluster that also includes Had Soualem / Casablanca — a companion pilot at smaller scale running in parallel.