This is
the reason.
Everything I do here funds what matters most.
The retreat, the talks, the photography, the stays — they are all part of the same story. This is where that story leads.
See the projectsNot a side project.
The whole point.
When people ask me why I do all of this — the coaching retreats, the talks in Belgium, the photography, the stays at the farm — the answer is always the same.
Because there is a community in Niombato that needs things I can help provide. And because the only way I can keep doing that, sustainably, is to build something that funds itself.
"I didn't come to Senegal to save anyone. I came to rebuild my own life. But when you live somewhere for thirteen years, it becomes your responsibility too."
In 2013 I founded Sandicoly VZW — a Belgian non-profit that channels resources directly into the local community of Batamar and the surrounding villages of the Niombato region.
No large overhead. No distant headquarters. Just direct work, with people I know by name.
What we
actually do.
These are not abstract development goals. They are specific things, in specific places, for people who live next to the mangrove and have no other way to get them.
Hospital renovation — Batamar
The local health post in Batamar serves dozens of surrounding villages. We renovated the building, improved sanitation, and supplied basic medical equipment that was simply absent.
CompletedDental clinic
Dental care does not exist in the Niombato region. We equipped a consultation space and helped organise periodic visits from trained dentists — often the first dental care these communities have ever received.
OngoingClean water filters
The delta water is brackish and often contaminated. We distributed ceramic water filters to households and are working on a larger purification solution for the ecofarm well to serve the wider area.
OngoingFishing nets — Batamar
Fishing is the primary livelihood here. When nets are lost or worn out, families lose their income entirely. We provided replacement nets to fishermen who had no other means to continue their work.
CompletedChildren's clothing & goods
Through the VZW we organised and shipped a container of clothing, school materials and basic goods collected in Belgium — distributed directly to families in the Niombato villages.
CompletedSandicoly Ecofarm
The farm itself is a project — built over thirteen years as a sustainable model for local agriculture, hospitality and community work. It employs local staff and serves as the base for everything else.
OngoingKeeping young people
here.
Every year, young men from the Niombato region board pirogues heading for Europe. Not because their lives have no value — but because they have been convinced that they do not.
I run discussion groups with young Senegalese men using NLP techniques — not to manipulate, but to help them see clearly. To question the stories they have been told about Europe. To find the opportunities that exist here, close to home.
This is prevention work. It is slow, invisible, and rarely funded. But it is what I know how to do, and it is what the community needs most.
How everything
fits together.
Every activity I do — in Senegal and in Belgium — feeds back into the projects. This is not charity. It is a system that sustains itself when enough people choose to be part of it.
Coaching retreat
The Deep Forest Reset retreat funds the farm and the community work that surrounds it.
→ projects & farmTalks in Belgium
Every speaking fee goes directly to the humanitarian projects in Niombato.
→ hospital, water, youthStays at the farm
Guest income keeps the ecofarm running and supports local employment year-round.
→ farm & local staffPhotography
Sales from the Ko-fi photo shop go entirely to the VZW projects.
→ VZW projectsThe book
Modou is offered free — because awareness is more valuable than income here.
→ understandingThe organisation
behind the work.
A Belgian non-profit with roots in Senegal
Sandicoly VZW is a registered Belgian non-profit (vzw/asbl) founded to support humanitarian and ecological work in the Niombato region of Senegal.
It operates with minimal overhead. There are no paid directors, no Brussels offices. The money goes where it is needed.
If you or your organisation would like to support the work directly — through a donation, a partnership, or in-kind contribution — get in touch.
What the VZW supports
- 🏥 Health infrastructure in Batamar
- 🦷 Dental care access
- 💧 Clean water access
- 🎓 Youth NLP guidance groups
- 🎣 Livelihood support for fishermen
- 🌱 Sandicoly Ecofarm sustainability
Read the story
behind the work.
Modou on his way to paradise
This book is the story behind the youth work. It follows young Senegalese men who believe Europe is paradise — and what happens when that belief collides with reality.
Luc wrote it after years of listening. It is available free on Ko-fi, because the story needs to be heard more than it needs to be sold.
Available in Dutch. English version in progress.
Read it free on Ko-fiWant to be
part of this?
Whether you want to donate, partner with the VZW, or simply know more — send a message.
Every connection matters. Even a small one.
info@deepforestreset.comMore from Luc
