Water Ecologist / Environmental Activist

Minetu Saleh was born and raised in Samara Camp in southwest Algeria. She studied at Shleff University in Algeria. When she returned to the Saharawi refugee camps she started researching and developing an affordable low-tech system to filter water from impurities and nourish life in this refugee community. The system utilizes local materials such as sand, stones and charcoal to purify grey water from residues in order to water trees and possible other applications. “Water: Lost and Found” is an awarding winning project, it was developed thanks to The Cultures of Resistance Creative Activism Awards. Minatu Saleh has been developing the project and experimenting with other materials, a number of families are adopting her methods. The project has been facing some challenges in terms of possibility to access laboratory facilities to test the amount and the types of residues the filter is able or unable to remove. The prototype she developed has helped families keep their trees alive especially during the summer when water is very limited and the families often can’t afford to use the limited water to water the trees. With this filter project, trees can continue to grow also during the summer.  

Works: 

Water: Lost and Found