WEFE4MED Nexus Award Winner

WEFE4MED Nexus Award: Winning Demonstrator

Recognizing outstanding WEFE Nexus demonstration projects in the Mediterranean

Following the successful completion of the WEFE4MED Nexus Award competition, we are pleased to present the winning demonstration project: The Samla Nexus: A Community-Powered WEFE Project

The Competition has been an interactive and engaging process, having started in September 2025 and culminating with the announcement of the winning Demo during the milestone Regional Conference on Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems Nexus in the Mediterranean Source to Sea Continuum: From Strategy to Action, that took place on 24-26 February 2026, in Nicosia, Cyprus.

The Competition aligns and fully supports the principal aim of WEFE4MED project, which is to promote a W(ater)E(nergy)F(ood)E(cosystems) Nexus-oriented approach to sustainable development in the Mediterranean region. Over the course of the last three and a half years, the consortium behind this project has also sought to build a thriving Nexus Community of Practice (NCoP).

A central component of this Community has been the collection of demonstration sites located across the Mediterranean basin, which showcase the utility and socio-economic viability of the WEFE Nexus.

As WEFE4MED has entered its fourth and final year, this competition represents the culmination of our efforts to shed light upon the work performed by these demonstrators, and to form a lasting NCoP. Involvement in the NCoP is free and open to all interested demos, so if you are not already a member, join us!

For more information, please contact wefe4med.info@cyi.ac.cy

WEFE4MED Nexus Award Winner

The Samla Nexus: A Community-Powered WEFE Project

The Samla Nexus: A Community-Powered WEFE Project

GEBAL for Sustainable Solutions

Samla village in Marsa Matrouh faced severe water scarcity caused by harsh environmental conditions and over-pumping of existing wells, leaving nearly twenty thousand residents without safe drinking water and harming local agriculture.

The project was implemented through a consortium of partners:

  • Schneider Electric Egypt instigated the project, forged and led the partnership, and supplied essential solar technology components and IoT monitoring devices.
  • Al Ahly Sabbour, a real estate developer, provided crucial funding for project implementation.
  • GEBAL for Sustainable Solutions, a social enterprise specializing in sustainable engineering, designed and installed the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) nexus solution, led community engagement, training, and management, and continues to monitor the project’s impact.

The partners combined their assets and introduced an integrated solution featuring a solar-powered deep well and a desalination unit, a climate controlled greenhouse that utilizes the treated water from the desalination station for year-round crops, and an educational play area to promote environmental awareness and resource conservation among local children.

The project now provides clean water, renewable energy, and fresh produce for the community, enhancing quality of life and local resilience. It stands as a practical, community-led model for sustainable resource management in arid regions.

Prize

As part of the WEFE4MED Nexus Award, the winning demonstrator will receive sponsored participation at the EuroMediterranean Water Forum (29 September – 2 October 2026), Rome, Italy, supported by the WEFE4MED project.

More information on the Awards

Goals
  • Encouraging new stakeholders to join the NCoP as well as promoting its work to a wider audience
  • Increasing the visibility of WEFE Nexus demonstrators in the Mediterranean
  • Underscoring the viability of the WEFE Nexus-oriented approach in the Mediterranean by showcasing regional demonstrators as laboratories for replication, upscaling and policy design
Prize

The winner of the competition will be given a fully funded opportunity to attend the EuroMediterranean Water Forum (29 September – 2 October 2026), Rome, Italy and the closing ceremony of the WEFE4MED project in September/October 2026. 

Eligibility

Demonstrators are initiatives that showcase the implementation of the Water-Food-Energy-Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus approach in practice. Demonstrators need to have some on the ground-level application, meaning that a new conceptual model or a theoretical study does not count.

In order to be entered to the competition, demonstrators need to satisfy the following criteria: 

  • WEFE dimension: The demonstrator should incorporate a minimum of 3 out of the 4 WEFE nexus pillars.

  • Stage: Only demonstrators that have begun implementation will be accepted i.e., demonstrators which are still at the proposal stage will not be accepted.

  • Quality: Submitters need to fill out all the fields in the application form prior to submitting their demonstrator. Uncompleted demonstrator submissions will not be published.
Submission
  • How to submit: participants should complete an online submission form.
  • Supporting materials: participants are encouraged to upload complementary documents, reports or papers, images, videos, and other media when filling out the form.
Review Process
  • The winner of the competition shall be selected by an independent panel of experts
  • The winner shall be determined on the basis of the following:

    • Socio-Economic Impact: Which demo has had the most visible impact on local communities?

      Correlates to the demonstrator having resulted in (a) enhanced food production and quality of agricultural produce (SDGs 2 & 12), (b)improved access to clean water for agricultural purposes and personal consumption (SDG 6), (c) improved access to affordable and low-carbon emitting sources of energy (SDGs 7, 9, 12 & 13), and/or (d)improved capacity-building at a local level (SDGs 4, 5, 8, 16 & 17)

    • Environmental Impact: Which demonstrator has had the most visible impact on local ecosystems? 

      Correlates to (a) the demonstrator’s success in up-scaling of low-carbon emitting sources of energy (SDG 13) and (b) improved levels of ecological resilience (SDGs 14 & 15)

    • Potential for scalability: Which demonstrator has the most potential to be replicated elsewhere in the Mediterranean region?

      Correlates to the extent to which the demonstrator accounted for the applicability of the (i) strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats presented by its context, to other parts of the Mediterranean region; (ii) and the potential for uptake of the demo-solution at a policy-making level

Timeline
  • Launch of the call: September 15th, 2025
  • Deadline for submission: November 30th, 2025
  • Evaluation phase: December 1st, 2025 – February 15th, 2026
  • Announcement of the winning demonstrator: February 26th  ,2026