Palmarin lance la 1ère édition de son festival : 5 jours pour célébrer la culture sérère au bord de la lagune
Initiated by Maison Yandé with the support of the town hall, FestiPalm brings together hundreds of people (festival-goers, visitors, tourists and local stakeholders) around culture, ecotourism and crafts.
Enchanting drums, sacred chants, and the scent of the sea filled the air on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, on the shores of the Palmarin lagoon. Organized by Maison Yandé with the support of the municipality, the Palmarin Festival (FestiPalm) brings together hundreds of festival-goers, tourists, and locals to celebrate Serer identity. From August 12 to 16, this town nestled in the Sine Saloum Delta will resonate for the first time with the rhythms of the Nguel and the Mbappat wrestling matches.
For 5 days, this large-scale event aims to make the Saloum islands an essential cultural, tourist and ecological destination in Senegal.
“We launched this festival to allow this city to promote everything it has to offer: the beauty of its environment, its culture, its ecotourism and its heritage,” said Yacine Sy, director of FestiPalm, on the sidelines of the official opening of the festival on Wednesday, August 12.
Beyond its cultural showcase, FestiPalm aims to be a powerful driver of local development. Indeed, through its international reach, the event promotes the remarkable work of women's groups specializing in oyster and seafood processing, as well as the exploitation of salt wells in the nature reserve. The organizers' goal is to create sustainable opportunities for the women who protect the Delta.
"The goal of the festival is to enable these brave ladies to have international partners, to sell their goods and to create a network of contacts," adds Ms. Sy.
A green day for environmental preservation
Nestled in a fragile ecological zone that is home to Senegal's largest community reserve and centuries-old mangroves, Palmarin faces major environmental challenges. Rising sea levels and coastal erosion directly threaten neighboring communities, particularly Djiffer Island.
To address this, the organizers have included a "green day" in the program. This initiative aims to involve the local population in mangrove reforestation efforts and to draw the attention of state authorities to the urgent need to invest in coastal protection.
“In Palmarin we have the largest community reserve in the country, and the largest mangroves in the Saloum islands, but there is coastal erosion which threatens Djifer (an island located a few kilometers away). We have therefore inserted a green day into the program to preserve our environment,” she concludes.
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