A "pilot solar village" for the region of Fatick, in Senegal.

The Charente nonprofit organization Sud-Ouest Sans Frontières (SOSF) has been working for over twenty years in the little village of Mbassis Log, located in the Saloum delta, through many projects (access to water and solar electricity, ecotourism, education, health, livestock, etc.) in an attempt to stem the rural exodus, by giving young persons the wherewithal to transform the handicaps of the sector into assets.

Located in an exceptional environment, this big typical rural village of a peanut farming province, famous for its history, its natural treasures and its cultural activities, has succeded in setting up an outreach ecotourism structure, thanks to its village development committee and the support of SOSF, plus help from engineering students of Saintes and Jonzac, majoring in the control and management of water and energies.

Located 3 km by truck from Mbassis, the Bambou district has no electrification, so that any energy consuming activity means having to go to the city centre, which is very often hit by load shedding, with lengthy and random blackouts. The constant going to and fro is exhausting and pointless, especially for the women.

The use of solar generators will help develop the rural economy without the disruption of the everyday hazards: portable, practical, watertight, dependable (10 year guarantee), they provide lighting, storage for food (goat cheese and yoghurt) and vaccines, charging of mobile phones, etc.

This project, run by the nonprofit and supported by the Regional Councils of Fatick and Poitou-Charentes, could become a reference and arouse the interest of other villagers. Following feedback, it is also planned to install a local unit to produce these NOETEC technology generators, thereby creating jobs and stemming the rural exodus.

The Veolia Foundation was approached for this project, which shares in the development of ecotourism and awareness-raising of the other villagers in the region of Fatick. At the same time, the Poitou-Charentes region has promised to buy 1,000 units from Angouleme's NOETEC to equip the small rural communes of the Poitou-Charentes region, to contend with storms and power outages.