Djenné, Mali — A City Rebuilt Every Year

All rights reserved by the author — 15/01/2026

Djenné is a small town in Mali, West Africa, known for something unusual.
Its great mosque, made entirely of mud, is rebuilt every year.
Not by experts.
By the community.
Men, women, children — everyone participates.
It’s not restoration; it’s continuation.
Cracks appear with rain and time.
No one complains.
They return and fix it together.
People in Mali are proud of Djenné because it shows that heritage isn’t frozen.
It survives because people show up — again and again.
Some places stay alive by being rebuilt, not preserved.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram: @rajatchandrasarmah5
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