There are only three options to earn a living on the Senegalese island of Boune: cultivating marihuana, felling mangrove trees or harvesting mussels in the Casamance river. The latter can only be done during the short season in March and April. It is a tedious and dangerous work, as the pickers often cut themselves and have to be aware of crocodiles and poisonous snakes. Yet, solely women do the job, while their men drink away the incomes in the only bar of the island.

2019