The ECED-Mouhoun project in Burkina Faso has contributed to the economic growth of communities in the Boucle de Mouhoun region. Since its launch in 2017, the project has extended the national electricity network to 16 localities and equipped 39 health centres and social services with solar panels, to provide energy to the most remote communities.
The project assisted 90 individual producers and 38 women’s groups by providing solar-powered irrigation, conservation and production systems. Two women’s groups benefited from the hybridisation of their multifunctional platform, enabling a solar energy source to be integrated to supplement fuels. The village of Touruba now has two hybrid engines powering a cereal huller and a flour mill.
Women beneficiaries are witnessing a number of benefits from the new scheme:
- Reduced costs: lower expenses for fuel and oil, as well as lower repair costs.
- Improved quality of service: the flour produced is finer and no longer carries the smell of petrol.
- Diversification of economic activities: women have developed new activities such as producing and selling natural juices and recharging mobile phones. These new sources of income enable the cooperative to grant repayable loans to its members, thereby promoting entrepreneurship and income-generating activities.
These new sources of income enable the cooperative to grant repayable loans to its members, thereby promoting entrepreneurship and income-generating activities.
“The solar hybrid platform really makes our work easier and increases our income. Now all you have to do is press a button and it starts. With the other platform, it was taking too long to get started and, more importantly, we had to put a lot of manpower into it.” Mandé Bibata Member of the Toroba PTFM
Picture Copyright: © Jade Production
Burkina Faso
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