It started with a request from the people who matter most to the future of El Mina: its children After enjoying a previous sustainability activity with Carmeuse so much, local schoolchildren asked for another chance to get involved. On June 9th 2026, that request became a full day of environmental action on the Mauritanian coast, proof that when a company genuinely invests in its community, people take ownership of their environment in return.
A Community Effort
The clean-up brought together a wide circle of partners. Carmeuse teams worked alongside the El Mina town hall, local associations, and the national navy responsible for coastal protection, each contributing their own role to a shared goal. El Mina is an area of the city of Nouakchott, near the office of Carmeuse Mauritania. It's a very poor neighborhood, so a lot of the community work that the team does is focused there.
The operation lasted two days: on June 8th, municipal and association teams worked with the navy on coastal monitoring, before the main event on June 9th brought together Carmeuse Mauritania site personnel and contractors, representatives from the Regional Education Inspectorate, 77 students, and 9 supervisors.
Together, the day combined:
• Environmental awareness activities for young people
• A coastal clean-up campaign
• The planting of 30 trees at Mouhamed Messoud School
The Numbers Tell the Story
The children alone collected 100 bags of rubbish, with community partners adding a further 350 bags, removing waste ranging from artisanal fishing debris (nets, ropes, buoys, trap remnants) and plastic and rubber waste, to scrap wood, textiles, and metal.
More Than a Clean Beach
What stood out most was the spirit of the day. Despite the fatigue of a full day's work, the event closed in a festive atmosphere, with dancing bringing together students, supervisors, employees and community representatives alike.
One student from Nessiba School captured the essence of the day:
"From now on, we are ambassadors for the environment, thanks to Carmeuse."
Why It Matters
The fact that it was the schoolchildren themselves who asked for this event to happen says everything about where things stand in El Mina. It's the result of years of relationship-building by the Carmeuse Mauritania team, whose sustained commitment has earned genuine trust within a traditionally close-knit and conservative community. That trust is now visible in the way the community responds: not as passive observers of a company initiative, but as active participants who want more of it.
The impact of one clean-up day is easy to measure in bags of rubbish. Its lasting impact, a generation of children who now see themselves as environmental ambassadors, is harder to quantify, but far more valuable.
Ambassadors for the Environment
It started with a request from the people who matter most to the future of El Mina: its children After enjoying a previous sustainability activity with Carmeuse so much, local schoolchildren asked for another chance to get involved. On June 9th 2026, that request became a full day of environmental action on the Mauritanian coast, proof that when a company genuinely invests in its community, people take ownership of their environment in return.