After decades of drought, water is returning to the south of Sahara Desert as ancient farming techniques and the Great Green Wall breathe new life into the Sahel

Communities dig water-harvesting pits to restore degraded land and improve soil moisture in the Sahel. For decades, the Sahel has symbolised environmental decline. Stretching nearly 5,900 kilometres across Africa from Senegal on the Atlantic coast to Sudan on the Red Sea, this semi-arid belt has endured recurring droughts, advancing desertification and repeated crop failures since the 1970s. Yet parts of the region are witnessing an unexpected transformation. Degraded farmland is turning green again, soils are retaining more moisture and communities are harvesting crops from land once considered beyond recovery. This revival is not being driven by futuristic technology alone. Instead, it stems from the revival of centuries-old farming practices working alongside Africa's ambitious Great Green Wall initiative, demonstrating that restoring water to the landscape often begins with restoring the land itself.Ancient farming techniques are helping the Sahel hold on to every drop of rainContrary to popular belief, the Sahel's revival is not about creating new water sources or reversing decades of declining rainfall. It is about making the most of the rain that does fall by allowing it to ...