In Paouignan, in central Benin, manual granite breaking is the only source of income for many families. Even very young children work for hours under the sun, without protection, earning only a few euros a day. The reportage investigates the conditions of those who depend on this work: the constant presence of dust, the repetition of the same gesture, the fatigue that shapes bodies and destinies. It reveals a widespread yet scarcely documented phenomenon, connected to the supply chains of construction materials that fuel economies far beyond this place. In this context, the youngest still imag
