Along the Mangrove: A Collaboration Between Benin and Quebec

When Fieldwork Becomes a Story Worth Sharing

Some initiatives have a remarkable ability to carry the realities of one place far beyond the territory where they began.

That is what I particularly appreciated about “Along the Mangrove: Between Resilience and Climate Justice”, a photography exhibition led by Village Monde in partnership with Eco-Bénin and rooted in several years of work with communities living in the mangrove areas of southern Benin. At Village Monde, Executive Director Tanya Lécuyer and her team invested considerable effort in bringing the exhibition to life and expanding its reach, giving this fieldwork another way to connect with the public.

The exhibition grew out of the Mangroves économie project, implemented from 2020 to 2025 around community resilience to climate change. Over the years, the project supported initiatives related to mangrove conservation, local economic development, entrepreneurship, ecotourism and the adaptation of livelihoods to changing environmental conditions.

Photography offered another way to tell part of that story.

The images portray women and men in their daily activities, the knowledge they carry, the environments in which they work, and the close relationship between local communities and an ecosystem on which much of their economic and social life depends.

From Southern Benin to Audiences in Quebec

Presented notably at the Musée de la civilisation in Quebec City, and later at the Roger-Lemelin Library in Cap-Rouge, the exhibition created a meeting point between realities experienced in Benin and audiences thousands of kilometres away.

Nearly 30,000 people had the opportunity to see the exhibition during the spring and summer of 2026.

Beyond the number of visitors, what matters most to me is this capacity to transmit. Environmental issues take on a different meaning when they are connected to faces, professions, families and communities whose living conditions evolve alongside their environment.

The mangrove is no longer simply an ecosystem to be protected. It is also a place of work, livelihood, memory, adaptation and possibility.

A Collaboration the Farid Danko Foundation Chose to Support

The Farid Danko Foundation was pleased to be among the partners that supported the exhibition.

Our contribution included the sponsorship of “Mareyeuses: Between Sea and Embers,” a photograph by Guillaume Dartigue.

The work highlights the women who process fish as part of the local fisheries economy.

The photograph brings several realities together: women’s work, their contribution to local economies, the knowledge passed down through generations, and the need to adapt certain practices in response to health and environmental concerns.

The project also supported the use of improved smoking ovens designed to reduce wood consumption and women’s exposure to smoke while improving the conditions in which they carry out their work.

It is this connection between the environment, economic activity and everyday human realities that gives the photograph its particular strength.

An Exhibition That Extends the Life of Fieldwork

What I find especially meaningful about this collaboration is the way a development initiative can continue to live in another form.

For several years, Village Monde, Eco-Bénin, local communities and their partners worked on very concrete issues on the ground. The exhibition extended part of that experience by making it accessible to a wider public.

The work does not remain confined to reports or project summaries. It can also become image and narrative, travel beyond its original setting and help others understand a reality they may never have encountered otherwise.

That resonates with a conviction I hold closely: documenting is also a way of passing things on.

A Work That Continues Its Journey

At the end of the exhibition, sponsored photographs were intended to return to the individuals and organizations that had supported them.

“Mareyeuses: Between Sea and Embers” has now joined the Farid Danko Foundation.

There is something particularly fitting about that journey.

A photograph created in Benin, emerging from work carried out with local communities, later exhibited in Quebec and seen by thousands of visitors, now becomes a lasting reminder of this collaboration.

It also reminds us that a partnership is not defined only by what happens during the life of a project. Sometimes it leaves behind images, encounters and relationships that allow the story to continue in another way.

What I Take Away From This Collaboration

Above all, I retain the quality of the work carried out by Village Monde, Eco-Bénin, the communities involved, the photographers and the many partners who helped make the exhibition possible.

I also value the strength of a project capable of creating a bridge between Benin and Quebec, between environmental protection and local economic development, and between fieldwork and cultural transmission.

And I am glad that the Farid Danko Foundation was able to contribute, in its own way, to this initiative.

Because ultimately, protecting a territory is not only about protecting an environment. It is also about preserving the conditions that allow the communities who live there to keep working, passing on their knowledge and building their future.

Project Highlights

Exhibition

Along the Mangrove: Between Resilience and Climate Justice

Lead organization

Village Monde

Partner in Benin

Eco-Bénin

Original project

Mangroves économie

Farid Danko Foundation contribution

Support for the exhibition and sponsorship of the photograph “Mareyeuses: Between Sea and Embers”

Photographer of the sponsored work

Guillaume Dartigue

Territories highlighted

Mangrove areas of southern Benin

Presented in Quebec

Musée de la civilisation, Quebec City · Roger-Lemelin Library, Cap-Rouge

Exhibition reachNearly 30,000 visitors in spring and summer 2026

Learn More

Explore the exhibition guide

Along the Mangrove: Between Resilience and Climate Justice