Senegal

From Solar Cooking

1 News and Recent Developments
2 The History of Solar Cooking in Senegal
3 Climate, Culture, and Special Considerations
- 3.1 See also
4 Documents
5 Contacts
6 See Also

[edit] News and Recent Developments

July 2007: In Senegal and Burkina Faso, people are finding many ways that the HotPot can improve their daily lives. Currently 220 men and women in Senegal and Burkina Faso are cooking with the HotPot; they are excited about the variety of meals they've cooked and the fuel they’ve saved doing so. Read more about Solar Household Energy's West Africa programs at http://www.she-inc.org/projects-3.php.

January 2007: The village coordinators in Senegal have been using their HotPots daily and they are excited about the meals they've cooked and their fuel savings. Their experience has increased interest throughout the village. This pilot program began in November and includes 120 participants in 5 villages north of Dakar. Read more here.

[edit] The History of Solar Cooking in Senegal

Considerable activity is present in Senegal on the solar cooking front. Much of that can be credited to the work of Abdoulaye Toure, a former teacher in the nation and now a government official, responsible for work in the renewable energy field. He serves as the executive of a national commission, and has direct contact with the President of the country who is so enthusiastic about the potential of solar cooking that he seconded Mr. Toure to the Ministry of Education to pursue this work. Prior to taking this position, Mr. Toure worked on solar cooking when he could, outside of his work hours as an elementary principal, in the construction and promotion of solar ovens. In his present position, he has created a substantial amount of publicity and activities, including television shows, visits to neighboring countries to extend the technology beyond Senegal's border, and numerous demonstrations and training courses all over the country. He is well known as the most ardent developer of solar energy, and is sometime dubbed in Senegal as "Mr. Sun."

One example of this work can be seen in the village of Diaganiao, a rural community with 6,000 inhabitants. It hosts several solar cooking projects, including a workshop that produces solar ovens for sale. As always, the problem with box cookers is the high cost to ordinary citizens, which has meant a slow uptake of the technology. Experimentation is ongoing with larger devices, to meet the needs of larger families, and less expensive devices as well.

In his most recent report to the President of the Republic, Mr. Toure elaborates on his work. He clearly is a dedicated person and a dreamer, now in a position of more influence, making him optimistic for the future of his cause, In his words " When one dreams alone, it is only a dream. When one dreams with many, it is the beginning of reality". To that end, an organization called Friends of the Sun was instituted in 2002. Senegal also was the first African nation to join the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN), a feat recognized in the Johannesburg Social Development meetings. They are (partnering with counterparts in a Chinese Network to transfer reforestation technology. Similarly, they partner with an American network on technical issues.

The activities of the association revolve around two major projects: the African Solar Cooker Project (PCSA) in partnership with French groups, and the GEN network, mentioned above. A large number of individual projects have been established in the country, as well, in many parts of the country, in over 35 communities. One major operation is called the Palette Project, with an educational focus. An American group that has been generous in providing resources to schools finances this activity. Mr. Toure sees this as critical for developing a creative spirit in the communities where they work. One problem badly needing a creative solution concerns the mangrove swamps that line the Senegalese coast. Mangroves are being cut and burned to smoke fish for commercial sale, thus leading to serious erosion, as well as destruction offish habitat (a problem not unique to Senegal). He believes that solar energy can play a role in solving this problem, by providing alternative energy for the fish-smoking process. The work of Senegal's Mr. Sun has been known in the solar cooking world for some time, despite communication issues for monolingual English speakers. All who know him are delighted that he is currently in a position where his vast knowledge and long lasting dedication to solar cooking can be placed efficiently in the service of that cause in his country and the region. Most noteworthy is the strong and continuing commitment of the government of Senegal to this work.

Remains of other projects are also found, some no longer in use. One example was seen in a dispensary in the town of Niaming which had a solar photovoltaic panel, used for sterilization of medical equipment. It was however not in use, with local medical personnel preferring to use an electrical sterilizer, even though the costs were very high. The solar version was slow to heat up and less convenient than the electric version, which had been locally built and government subsidized at a cost of around 380 Euros (Trip Report, M. Bonello, 2003).

Also World Vision had promoted distribution of about 105 cookers in Senegal as of 2004.

[Information for this section was taken originally from State of the Art of Solar Cooking by Dr. Barbara Knudson]