In Africa, the countries of the Sahel have an unfavorable climate characterized by a rain season, which lasts from three to four months between June and September. Agriculture and livestock are the principal sources of revenue for the people, and fall victim to climatic hazards. Alternative methods of generating revenue are very limited. Depending on the situation, the availability of potable water could provide the practical methods to change the conditions of living for these people.
It’s this kind of situation that is lodged in Mali, in the heart of Western Africa, with a population of more than 12 million inhabitants, more than 70% of whom live in rural situations. The sole sources of revenue for these populations are subsistence farming and traditionally-reared livestock. The rate of rural electrification is less than 1% in the country. The rural populations have no access to modern electricity services. And yet, these sources of modern energy, a common factor to every development, could serve to accelerate the actions of the struggle against poverty, completely assuring alimentary self-sufficiency, and the creation of local economy bases. With 1 241 000 Km2 (479 153 square miles), and a population density of 10 inhabitants per Km2 (26 inhabitants per square mile), renewable energies provide an appropriate solution for boosting the local economy, the reduction of poverty and the rural exodus of the (mostly young) population.
To better the everyday conditions, to renew hope, to propose a track to solutions to different questions concerning the conditions of living of the people, and to the environment, the Mali-Folkecenter in partnership with the Fond Mondial pour l’Environnement FEM/PPS (World Environmental Fund) and InterCooperation Suisse through their JEKASSY program have installed a hybrid solar/wind pumping system in the Karangana village, a rural commune of the same name as the south of Mali in the Sikasso region, 480 Km away from Bamako (the capital of the country.)
The choice of technologies linked with the potential that lies in wind and solar energies. Within the scope of this project, a wind measuring system was installed to constitute a database of the site and the local environment, following the installation of a hybrid wind/solar pumping system of:
Installed for the last two years, the pumping system permits availability to more than 20 cubic meters of water every day. The pump fills the troughs set out for the animals as well as drinkable water for the people. This water permits the groups of women and men of the village to, as well as having potable water for themselves, to run revenue-generating activities such as:
The impacts of the project on the lives of the people:
Aside from the project’s pilot facet, to appropriately ameliorate the conditions of living for the people by:
