About the Project:

Across Morocco, nomadic communities are slowly disappearing; forced by desertification, drought and unfavourable policies, the remaining nomads are slowly giving up their pastoral traditions and lifestyle. According to the last census, the Moroccan nomad population (known as Rouhal) shrunk by 63% to about 25,000 people in just a decade. The sedentism of these communities has multidimensional consequences: from national and international forced environmental migration, to the loss of cultural heritage. It also exposes the particular vulnerability of women and children, whose socio-economic and educational characteristics are below national averages. The 2021 World Bank Groundswell report estimates that in North Africa alone, internal climate migrants could increase to 19.3 million by 2050, representing 9% of the region’s projected population. Most commonly it is young men that emigrate to northern cities, forming part of the global migration crisis, with the left behind community commonly consisting of the elderly, women, and children.

Remembering Yzza Slaoui, whose passion for documentary photography captured the heartache of disappearing nomadic cultures. Her final project, Sincerely, Tendrara, highlights the Beni Guil tribe’s fight against climate change and desertification in Morocco. Through her lens, Yzza showcased their struggle to preserve traditions as they become climate refugees. Her legacy lives on, inspiring us to honor and protect vulnerable communities.

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