Blog Post (1/3)
DESTINATIONS
MOCK WILD PICNIC: EGYPT was a catered bus tour for tasting divergent food futures and visiting the engineered arable landscapes emerging around the New Delta megaproject in the desert west of Cairo, Egypt.
The stated aims of the New Delta mega project are to reclaim desert land for agriculture, improve food security and create new communities outside the densely populated Nile Valley. While one can identify this infrastructure from satellite images, access on the ground is limited. We designed & hosted an unofficial tour to explore the ground truth and discover what was publicly visible and accessible. Leaving Cairo heading west we spotted greenhouses, pivot irrigation fields, grain silos and other agricultural projects along the highway.
We drove (past but could not enter) the New Delta Irrigation Water Treatment Plant. According to the Guinness World Records (GWR) this is “the world’s largest water treatment facility, the most capacious and operationally robust water treatment plant, the largest area for epoxy coating in structures, and the biggest sludge treatment plant globally.” Although it describes itself as “One of the most significant sustainability initiatives worldwide,” it does not currently give tours or allow visitors.
However, we WERE able to stop by the side of the road and take a self-guided tour of محطه 12 النهر الصناعي / Pumping Station No. 12 (Capacity 6 million cubic meters a day) which is part of the Wastewater Collection and Transfer Project.
Blog Post (2/3) will describe the RECIPES.
In Blog Post (3/3) we will meet the ATTENDEES.