MOISTURE FARMS

Most of those seeking to make a living on Tatooine do so by gathering the planet's single most valuable resource, water. The "moisture farmers", as they are known, use water they extract to irrigate underground crops, then store the remainder in vast subsurface tanks for later sale. While some of the crops produced are sold in town, they are not the main source of income. The foods grown primarily supply the farm families, who barter edibles with each other while relying upon water sales for their principal incomes.

The water is extracted from the air through the use of "moisture vaporators". These devices utilize ionized fields and cooling rods in order to create condensation of whatever vapor is contained in the surrounding air, and can draw water from air containing as little as one-point-three percent humidity. Tatooine's average is five-point-four, yielding an adequate water output year-round.

The living area of moisture farms are underground, providing relief from the intense heat above. Tunnels connect an intricate array of living rooms, bedrooms, garages, and storerooms, as well as kitchen, dining, and personal areas. Domed entry/exit points and circular wellshafts 10 to 20 meters across provide access to the surface above.

Several moisture farm clusters, or communities, dot the landscape south and north of the Jundland Wastes. These farmers rely upon each other for many things, creating a strong family bond between farms. Equipment is shared, as are emergency rations and medical supplies.

Farmers on Tatooine seldom buy new machinery, for seldom does pristine equipment find its way to the planet. Most of the droids, pump fittings, power converters, and vaporator parts the farmers need are bought either in town at used equipment lots, or at home, via monthly Jawa sandcrawler visits. Even though going into town involves transporting newly-bought goods across vast areas of desert, often a hardship, many farmers prefer to make the trip rather than deal with the Jawa. Equipment bought at established lots is usually guaranteed to some extent and has a past-use history, while the Jawas' goods are generally pot-luck and often stolen.

Since Tatooine has few, if any, roadways, most travel is done in landspeeders. These one, two, or four passenger vehicles utilize compact repulsar coils and air turbine engines to travel at high speeds over rocky, sandy surface of the planet. The speeders never touch the surface, riding instead upon an anti-grav cushion of air. Most moisture farms own several landspeeders, and use them primarily for inspection of their vaporator arrays.

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Disclaimer: Star Wars and all related characters, trademarks, and graphics are all property of Lucasfilm Ltd. The above entry is from Star Wars Technical Journal of the Planet Tatooine.