Facades of Utopia (Senegal, MBour)

In M'Bour, on Senegal's Atlantic coast, this former guesthouse still displays the faded traces of a local humanitarian project, probably linked to an NGO or community initiative. The whitewashed walls and bright blue doors, typical of Sahelian coastal buildings, now show the marks of time and neglect. In the foreground, the wicker fish traps , typical of Senegalese artisanal fishing, are twisted or rusty, lying among worn tires and debris. This type of trap, locally called "nasse" or "thiay" , is traditionally used by Lebou or Serer fishermen in shallow waters.

Since the storm that reportedly hit this coastline several years ago, many of the facilities have never been repaired due to lack of resources. This building— “Les Moulins de Saly” —encapsulates in one image the persistent gap between development ambitions and the economic reality of coastal communities. Here, tourist infrastructure sits alongside the subsistence economy in an unresolved tension.