Nine hundred years ago, the village of Oualata in southeastern Mauritania was a thriving stop-off on the caravan route across the Sahara Desert. Passing traders not only brought in camels loaded with salt, ivory, metals, gum and cloth, but also intellectual goods in the form of religious texts, old folk songs and scientific essays. But, during the 1970s, drought and hunger forced the residents to move to nearby towns and, despite inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 1996, Oualata became little more than a ghost town. Two years later, new water supplies and a 60-hectare market garden began to lure the residents back, and breathe new life into the village. Today, with their basic needs catered for, residents are able to concentrate on restoring their homes and protecting their heritage.
Photographs by Pascal Meunier

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