Women entrepreneurs and mangrove guardians in Senegal
Senegal's Casamance and Saloum islands are home to the largest expanses of mangroves, ecosystems that are essential to the daily survival of thousands of rural households. However, these precious ecosystems are threatened by climate change and destructive human activities. Against this backdrop, ENDA ÉNERGIE, with the support of its partner Mitsubishi Corporation, is implementing the RESICOM project (Socio-ecological Resilience of Mangrove Communities in Senegal) aimed at strengthening the resilience of mangrove ecosystems and local communities through the restoration and promotion of clean technologies, in particular improved stoves.
This new initiative places women at the heart of the preservation of mangrove ecosystems, while strengthening their role as entrepreneurs, particularly through the dissemination of improved stoves.
RESICOM's approach is inclusive and participatory, actively involving local communities, particularly women. These women, grouped together in various associations, are working to transform their own lives and those of their environment. Through cooking demonstrations and awareness-raising efforts, ENDA ÉNERGIE and its partners encourage female entrepreneurship by offering women opportunities to market improved stoves. This approach strengthens their financial autonomy while helping to preserve vital ecosystems.
As well as promoting improved stoves, RESICOM is involved in mangrove reforestation, to restore and protect these fragile ecosystems. The project is also taking a holistic approach by promoting the development of a green economy through initiatives such as the "Caisses Jambar", which, as well as being an income-generating activity, encourage dialogue and collaboration among women around sustainable ecological and economic projects.
As part of its series of meetings and cooking demonstrations in the villages targeted by the project, ENDA ÉNERGIE also visited the village of Bandial in the south, in the commune of Enampor, arrondissement of Gnasia, department of Ziguinchor. Following a cooking demonstration and the launch of this new entrepreneurial activity, the name of the Bulekh group (women we met), meaning "poverty", is about to change. This symbolic change reflects not only the hope and potential for prosperity that this project could bring, but also the strength of the community to unite for the socio-economic development of Bandial.
Thanks to enriching discussions about the project, the idea emerged of strengthening the economic activities of the women in the group, who were already involved in selling traditional loincloths. From now on, they will have a new activity selling improved stoves, thereby strengthening their economic power and financial independence.
In these regions, women play a central role as guardians of the environment, using their ancestral knowledge to protect the mangroves. With the RESICOM project, they are also becoming entrepreneurs, contributing both to the preservation of their ecosystem and to their economic independence.
