Pierre
Vanneste

NOVA - "The gold of Kedougou"

[2021-2022] 

" The first moment he went under the ground, he felt as if he was looking up at the sky in the middle of the night. Ten hours a day, he was sorting out stone and earth that had been mixed here over millions of years. "

In the heart of the Kédougou region in southeastern Senegal, a complex reality unfolds where gold and land intertwine. Here, the lives of the inhabitants are shaped by agricultural cycles, an ancestral heritage, and artisanal gold mining.

This mining activity has profoundly transformed the region, gradually reshaping its landscape and social structure. Thousands of young people from across West Africa converge on these lands, drawn by the promise of gold. They gather on the outskirts of various villages, near the "Diora" artisanal mining sites. Some of these sites are regulated by Economic Interest Groups (GIEs) and operate within a precarious framework.

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