FAO Digital Media Hub - MAURITANIA 2025. Dromedary camels

MAURITANIA 2025. Dromedary camels

Nouakchott , Mauritania , January 2025. A Mauritanian woman works with wool derived from dromedary camels at the MATIS carpet factory, in Nouakchott, Mauritania, 28 January 2025.

“In Mauritania, the dromedary is an emblematic animal and a central part of the daily lives of Mauritanians,” explains Alexandre Huynh, Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The animals play both a symbolic role in the country’s culture and traditions and a vital economic one as a source of milk, meat, fibre and leather, while fostering an industry crucial for producing these critical resources for the local population. Efforts to improve and modernize camel rearing and milk production not only benefit the country’s economy and the health of its consumers, but also support the economy in other important ways. Vivi Efeiji is the President of the MATIS factory, a processing unit specializing in weaving products derived from sheep’s wool and camel fibre. While traveling through the desert, Efeiji witnessed local communities discarding and burying camel fibre, which sparked the idea. She proposed exchanging food stuffs for fibre bringing it to the city to transform into rugs. "The wool is a whole commercial system in Mauritania," Efeiji said as she walked around MATIS’s bustling site. What began as a simple solution soon grew into a valuable activity that not only supports the local economy, but also reduces waste, showcases Mauritania’s rich textile heritage and provides livelihoods for a sizable number of women.

01/28/2025

Credit © Zied Ben Romdhane / Magnum Photos for FAO

File size 14.68 MB

Unique ID UF19DAR

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