Sand miners of Lagos Lagoon

Along the coastline of Lagos, young men and row out to sea in their makeshift wooden boats to collect sand from the ocean floor. It’s back-breaking work, as the men dive deep with a bucket, fill it with sand, and then heave themselves and the heavy bucket back to air to pour the sand into the boat. The sand brought up, one bucket at a time, from the dredging in Lagos Lagoon is used in construction, mostly concrete, for Lagos – a mega-city of over 15million people. Sometimes the divers go as deep as 15 feet deep. The Lagos sand miners use the money to support their families, but are often harassed by the local government officials who regularly try to stop the dredging of the Lagos coastline over concerns for the environment.