Standing in waist-deep water, Ayen Deng Duot uses a machete to break up the thick roots of a papyrus plant and throws the pieces onto a spongy mix of plants and clay soil. This human-made shore, once compacted and sun-dried, will expand the island where the South Sudanese mother of six stays with her family.
The Akuak community of about 2,000 people has been using this technique of layering plants and mud to build islands for generations in this swampy area along the Nile River, according to their chief. Increased flooding driven by climate change in recent years has made the islands harder to maintain, with community members spending hours each day dredging up material by hand to keep water from encroaching. South Sudan is experiencing catastrophic flooding for the sixth year in a row.
