Egypt. Nile Delta. Brick Plant in Zafta. 1996
The large land of Egypt, invaded by the desert, is crossed by the generous Nile. Its rich, irrigated and cultivable banks makep 5% of the country's surface. For a long time, before the tourism industry emerged in the last century, the only national resource was agriculture. A major overpopulation and a growing urbanization have significantly reduced the surface of land suitable for cultivation. A catch-22 situation took place. Men needed a roof to live, and have therefore built excessively using cultivable soil to make bricks. As a result, there was nothing to do but watch Egypt's most precious good shrinking away. Faced with an alarming situation, the Government took action. Laws were passed banning the use of agricultural land towards the manufacture of housing bricks, and large-scale projects were launched to tame the desert and turn it into agricultural land. So far, they have been costly and not efficient. In the brick plants of the Nile Delta, men and women relentlessly carry along heavy piles of bricks. The heat of the sun and that of the oven never give them any respite.