Muscat: After it stopped flowing due to drought, a natural irrigation system in Oman has returned to life after 15 years.
The 800 year-old Al Saara falaj, one of the major water channels in Bruami province, a city adjacent to the UAE’s Al Ain, started flowing on Friday thanks to efforts of the volunteers.
The falaj is an irrigation system that has been considered an integral part of Oman’s agricultural practices since ancient times.
Hundreds of volunteers from Buraimi worked for a month to dig and clean the piled up debris from the falaj, located in the Sa’ara area.
Talib Al Jabri, the head volunteers, told Gulf News that it was a very challenging job for them as they didn’t have enough experience in falaj maintenance. “With the help of elders our dream came true. We spent more than 300 hours to clean the six-kilometre long falaj,” said Al Jabri. “At first, we were afraid that we may lose some volunteers but with our determination and will, we made it,” he said.
One of the challenges the group faced was lack of oxygen, particularly in areas with a depth of more than 10 meters, which made it hard to work.
Al Jabri added that the volunteers removed tonnes of debris from the falaj, which had accumulated there due to landslides over the past 15 years. Residents of Buriami donated thousands of rials for this project, said Al Jabri.
The Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources also brought engineers and volunteers to monitor the maintenance work, according to an official at the ministry.
Al Jabri thanked the volunteers who risked their lives to bring the falaj back to life. “Everyone is happy now. I see every day children enjoy swimming in the falaj, which makes me happy,” Al Jabri said.
Naser Al Shamsi, 69, still remembers the time when most of the farms in Buraimi province were dependant on Saara village due to abundance of water there.
Al Shamsi added that many families in the province used to have their own farms and they harvested high-quality dates, mangoes and lemons for years. “We also used to export our surplus products to neighbouring towns,” Al Shamsi said.
But the drought that hit the province for years resulted in the death of many palm trees. “Since then, many families abandoned their farms or sold them, which were later converted into commercial land,” he continued.
“I hope to see the remaining farms come back to life with the flowing of the falaj before I die,” he said.
More than 200 farms are expected to benefit from the Al Saara falaj.
Meanwhile, residents of Sa’ara village have started to clean their farms in preparation to plant crops and palm trees once again. Ahmad Al Alawi, a 55-year-old resident of Al Sa’ara and one of the farm owners, said that he cleaned all the debris from his farm to plant crops just as his grandparents used to do. “Our farm is part of our history. We are proud of it,” he said.
