Camp Erech is an Ayzoh!’s social entrepreneurship initiative set in the heart of Mauritania’s Adrar Desert, Camp Erech is a place where personal transformation meets sustainable community impact. At the core of this project lies the extraordinary journey of Riccardo Yahya—a story of resilience, cultural fusion, and the power of storytelling to inspire change.
The Journey of Riccardo Yahya
In the 1990s, Riccardo De Biase was a renowned fashion photographer, working between Rome, Milan, and Los Angeles. However, after being diagnosed with a severe neurodegenerative disease, he made a life-altering decision—leaving his profession behind to embrace a completely different existence. He relocated to the vast and remote Adrar region of Mauritania.
There, he met Fatimatou and chose to settle in her desert camp, adopting a semi-nomadic way of life. He converted to Islam, changed his name to Yahya, and, together with Fatimatou, built a family in the heart of the desert.
Today, Riccardo Yahya defines himself as a “troubadour”—a seeker of emotions, a storyteller sharing his world with guests who pass through Camp Erech and with travelers who embark on journeys he carefully curates.
“How far is Los Angeles from Toungad… endless miles. Years on my shoulders, suffocating heat, sweat, wonder, the peace of sunset, tea with many friends, fleeting moments of life, joy with my family, my daughters, and Fatimatou…” — Riccardo Yahya
Having turned his back on photography, Riccardo Yahya reinvented himself as a travel designer, organizing tailored expeditions that unveil the breathtaking landscapes, rich history, and deep-rooted cultures of Mauritania.
The income generated from these tours not only supports his family and the people of Camp Erech but also contributes to the local village school—where his daughters study—and helps fund small entrepreneurial initiatives within the community.
Yet, as his illness progresses, it becomes increasingly difficult for him to personally lead these legendary tours, known in niche cultural, anthropological, and responsible travel circles for their depth, authenticity, and emotional impact.
Thus, the time has come to make his work—built over the years with his family and the people of Camp Erech—structural and sustainable for the future.
A Socio-Economic Mission for the Desert
Mauritania, a crossroads between the Maghreb and Sub-Saharan Africa, remains an overlooked destination in African travel. Despite its lesser-developed tourism infrastructure compared to neighboring countries, and the past security concerns (now largely resolved), it holds a wealth of history, culture, and human traditions waiting to be explored.
People like Riccardo Yahya and his local collaborators—whose profound knowledge of the land and culture is unmatched—play a crucial role in shaping a sustainable and genuinely responsible travel experience, one that supports local communities and preserves cultural identity.
What We Aim to Achieve
The Camp Erech Project is designed to establish a strong international communication strategy to promote the tours curated by Riccardo Yahya’s family and his trusted network of local guides. The goal is to connect with the growing global market for responsible and experiential travel, particularly photographic, anthropological, environmental, and educational expeditions—an audience that aligns perfectly with Ayzoh!’s mission.
The project’s primary objectives are:
- Creating high-quality content (photographic, anthropological, and cultural) to highlight the unique historical and human heritage of Mauritania’s desert and the nomadic communities that inhabit it.
- Strengthening international visibility for local tourism initiatives (Camp Erech and surrounding sites), ensuring they have the tools to reach broader, more conscious markets.
- Increasing economic returns from sustainable tourism to support not just Camp Erech’s micro-community but also the village school and small-scale community businesses.
A Cultural and Humanistic Perspective
The desert has always been a place of profound symbolic meaning, where the challenges of survival, adaptation, creativity, solitude, solidarity, spirituality, and cross-tribal cooperation have shaped human resilience.
The Camp Erech Project aims to bring these universal themes to life through a powerful, firsthand narrative shared by those who live it.
Through Riccardo Yahya’s story, the project will explore themes that resonate across geographies and cultures:
- The daily life of small desert communities and their struggle against cultural homogenization.
- Islam as a source of strength, dialogue, and unity in its local variations.
- The role of women, explored through an in-depth reportage on the community of Madeen, a place that defies stereotypes about women in Islam.
- Nomadism as a path to inner growth, in an era where the world seems already seen, mapped, and conquered.
- The value of oral culture in children’s education, told through the eyes and voices of local youth.
- Resilience and transformation—turning personal and environmental challenges into opportunities for learning and growth.
Archetypes: The Power of a Singular Story
The story of Riccardo Yahya and his family is one of extraordinary inner strength, adaptation, and connection. It embodies the timeless narrative archetypes that have shaped epic storytelling since antiquity—the hero, the mentor, the gatekeeper, the messenger, the shadow, the shapeshifter, the catalyst.
These elements make a deeply personal journey universal, offering inspiration to anyone—regardless of their background, status, religion, politics, or nationality—to embrace change, resist adversity, and become agents of their own transformation.
“The story of Riccardo Yahya and Camp Erech is one that, despite its deeply personal and geographically rooted origins, carries universal meaning. It is a source of courage and hope for all of us. It must be told. Everyone should know it.” — A guest at Camp Erech
The Work Phases
The Camp Erech project unfolds in four key phases:
- Research & Planning (Completed)
- On-Field Production (photographic report, video, storytelling, community photography*), with a team including two documentary photographers, an anthropologist, and a linguist.
- Editorial Production (photo book, web content, multimedia exhibits).
- Global Dissemination through exhibitions, festivals, and public events.
- Community Photography—A hallmark of Ayzoh! productions, empowering local children, students, and young women to tell their own stories through photography. This participatory approach ensures an authentic and diverse visual narrative, where every perspective matters.
Editorial & Multimedia Output
- A dedicated international website to promote and sustain Camp Erech’s tourism and community initiatives.
- A high-quality photo book capturing the region’s spirit.
- A collection of fine-art prints available in two formats (A5 / A3+).
- A documentary film bringing the project’s journey to life.
- Exhibitions and public events in key cities: Rimini, Milan, Rome, Paris, Oslo, Addis Ababa. The project will also be showcased at international photography and travel festivals.
Final Thought
“In the desert, you are worth as much as your gods.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Camp Erech is more than a place—it is a vision of resilience, a story of adaptation, and a call to see the world through new eyes
