Minatu Saleh

Cultures of Resistance Awardee — Western Sahara

Born in the Sahrawi refugee camps near Tindouf, Algeria, Minatu Saleh studied ecology and environment at Hasiba Ben Bouli University in Chlef, Algeria. After school, she returned to the camps, where she developed an affordable low-tech system to filter water from impurities. The system allows residents to restore enough water to reuse for watering plants. Her project, titled “Water, Lost and Found,” aims to bring real change on a critical issue to the Sahrawi people. Water scarcity is one of the biggest challenges to growing food in the desert, and “Water, Lost and Found” hopes to help enable growing food with filtered water.

Saleh received a Cultures of Resistance Award (CoR Award) and is using the award to support the “Water, Lost and Found” project.

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