Caravan through the oases of Mashreq and Maghreb

M’hammed Kilito’s work stands at the intersection of art and environmental advocacy. A documentary photographer based in Rabat, Morocco, Kilito has spent the past six years chronicling the effects of climate change on the fragile oases of North Africa and the Middle East.

His work, a visual anthropology of vanishing landscapes and the communities that depend on them, is on display at the International Photography Festival (Xposure) 2025, offering the visitors a chance to appreciate the beautiful ecosystems that exist in the middle of the desert.

In his talk at Xposure on Tuesday, Kilito offered a glimpse of his latest project, Kafila —the Arabic word for ‘Caravan’ to the audience.

Kafila is his journey through Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Tunisia, with Mauritania next on the list. Through his lens, Kilito captures not only the ecological devastation of these ancient ecosystems but also the resilience of the people who call them home. 

One of the most striking images from his Before It’s Gone series features a solitary man, Mohammed, from the village of Aït Mansour. “This village once housed 100 families, but water scarcity has forced nearly all of them to leave. Mohammed is one of only four families that remain. He is, in essence, a climate refugee in his own country.” 

To survive, these communities resort to extreme measures. “In the south of Morocco, where the state is largely absent, people pool their resources to build water towers. With as little as €15 or €20 each, they construct structures to store water for the driest periods. It’s a testament to their ingenuity but also a stark reminder of their vulnerability.”

Beyond water scarcity, the oases face another existential threat: fire. “In 2020, in the Jemna oasis, a fire destroyed 50 hectares — half of the entire oasis. The vegetation has become so dry that any spark can turn into an inferno.” 

Siwa: An oasis drowning in water 

In Egypt’s Siwa oasis, Kilito encountered a paradox. Unlike most oases suffering from water shortages, Siwa has too much water. “The soil here doesn’t absorb water well, so farmers have built canals to drain excess water into a lake. But the lake’s water level is rising dangerously, threatening the very farms that feed it.” 

The solution? “They build walls to keep the water at bay. But every year, the water rises higher, and they build more walls. It’s an unsustainable cycle.” 

Lessons from Tunisia 

In Tunisia, he examined a unique experiment in sustainable agriculture. In 1992, local farmers invited Pierre Rabhi, a pioneer of agroecology, to help merge traditional farming methods with modern techniques. “Gabès is one of the few oases in the world that borders the sea. The contrast between the lush greenery of the oasis and the Mediterranean’s blue waters is stunning.”

But the oasis faces severe industrial pollution. “A phosphate factory dumps 3,000 litres of phosphogypsum into the sea every day. The air pollution is just as bad.”

A journey towards conservation 

With support from the National Geographic Society’s Climate Pledge, Kilito is continuing his work in Mauritania. His mission: to document best practices for conserving oases and sharing those lessons across borders.

His work extends beyond photography. In collaboration with the Mishkat Institute, he has brought pieces of the oasis into museum spaces. “I spent over a year collecting plants, preserving them in herbariums, and creating cyanotypes — images made by exposing fabric treated with cyanotype solution to sunlight. The result is a deep blue imprint, with the white silhouettes of plants standing out like ghostly memories of a disappearing world.” 

For Kilito, the project is deeply personal. His photographs serve as a reminder — a call to action — to preserve these last vestiges of life in the desert before they disappear forever. 

Xposure concludes on February 26 at Aljada, Sharjah. For more details, visit www.xposure.net.