For centuries the deserts of northern Mali have sustained the Tuareg; herdsmen known as the 'blue people' of the Sahara. But, in the 1990s the combination of droughts and civil war forced most to abandon their herds and flee to refugee camps in Mauritania. Now Moussa Ag Mohammed is returning to his land; but the loss of his herds, and the remorseless advance of the desert, means his ancient lifestyle is doomed. Mohammet Ali, whose lineage can be traced back twelve hundred years, digs with pitiful tools to maintain an ever sinking well against the dusty backdrop of the desert plains. He refused to fight or flee during the war, sticking by his philosophy: "If it is hot where you are, it's even hotter somewhere else". Orphaned Faty and her brother tend their precious market garden on a patch of sand outside the village; every last drop of water must be pumped by hand. The Tuareg are still pessimistic that their way of life will die out as their children migrate to the towns for an 'easier' lifestyle