“Ragata… The Silk Road“ is an eco-art exhibition led by artist Mohamed Amine Hammouda, presented in Gabes as part of an effort to revalorize the region’s unique vegetation heritage. Once considered a paradise and a major trade hub of Ifriqiya, Gabes flourished due to its coastal climate, fertile soil, and abundant water resources. Today, in the face of growing environmental and industrial threats, the exhibition seeks to reclaim and reimagine this legacy through artistic experimentation. Using traditional methods such as plant collection, fiber cutting, pulp softening, and solar drying, the artist explores the potential of local plants like henna, mallow, banana, date palms, castor, and others. “Ragata” transforms these botanical elements into pigments, fibers, paper, and textiles, offering a poetic and material response to the ecological challenges facing the Oasis of Gabes—an artistic act of preservation and resistance.