A young man with a beard and short hair wearing a yellow vest with Yamaha branding, looking to the side, standing indoors near a blue wall.

Sand diggers of Cameroon

In my photography project in Cameroon, I documented the lives of sand diggers working in the Lobe River near Kribi city. These men dive several meters into the river with a bucket to collect sand, a physically demanding job that only men undertake due to its intensity. One of my portraits features Arnaud, a sand digger who works 2-3 times a week, earning around $15 per day. On other days, he works as a motorbike taxi driver.

The demand for river sand has surged due to construction projects in Douala and the Kribi harbor, as beach sand is unsuitable for building due to its consistency.

However, this work comes at a cost—not only is it physically taxing, but it also causes significant environmental damage. By disrupting the riverbed, sand diggers contribute to the degradation of local biodiversity, illustrating the complex relationship between economic necessity and environmental impact. 

  • Black and white aerial view of a cityscape showing various buildings, including a large circular structure and high-rise buildings with glass and concrete facades.
  • Black and white photo of a cityscape with tall buildings, billboards, and a street with cars and pedestrians.
  • Three men in small boats on a river, navigating using long poles, with dense forested shoreline in the background.
  • Three men stand on traditional wooden boats with bamboo poles in a river, surrounded by dense jungle foliage.
  • Two young boys on a boat, one climbing onto the hull and the other in water, with a background of foliage.
  • Three shirtless men on a wooden boat in a natural water body, with two of them standing and one in the water, pouring or splashing water from a bucket, with lush foliage in the background.
A black and white photo of four shirtless men on a wooden boat in a river, surrounded by dense trees, engaging in boating activities.
Men with no shirts and shorts standing on traditional outrigger canoes with long poles, navigating a river surrounded by dense forest.