On 17 January 2018, a school-workshop created as part of the Farim project was officially launched in El Mina, south-west of Nouakchott.
For three billion human beings, biomass is an essential source of energy. This is particularly the case for 90 % of Mauritanians, who use it on a daily basis. In Nouakchott, the most disadvantaged families (i.e. 250,000 people) use charcoal almost exclusively. This incompressible food security expenditure alone accounts for up to 25 % of daily family budgets.
In order to fight effectively and sustainably against fuel poverty and deforestation, in September 2015, GRET launched the “Improved stoves in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania” project (Farim), with the support of energy group Engie and the Find endowment fund. The pilot phase made it possible to design a stove suited to the Mauritanian context. In 2016, a second phase was launched, the main objective of which is the distribution and development of a sustainable improved stove offer in urban areas in Mauritania. With a view to achieving this objective, a school-workshop was launched in April 2017.
Nine months after its creation, GRET organised an official launch ceremony to increase the awareness of its various partners and the general public on the activities implemented as part of the Farim project. During this ceremony, which began at 10 o’clock in the school-workshop located in the Dar El-Beida neighbourhood in El Mina, a guided tour was organised. It was followed by a detailed presentation on the project. The Fayda improved stove was also presented, enabling its various advantages to be highlighted: less smoke, increased safety… and above all, an improvement in households’ income thanks to a reduction in the consumption of charcoal.
Various institutional, financial and technical partners attended, including representatives from: the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, the various districts of Nouakchott, the district of Rosso, the UN agencies (WFP, HCR, UNDP, UNICEF, FAO, etc.), the European Union; Agence française de developpement (AFD), the French Embassy, GRDR, FLM, Caritas, the Vocational training and upskilling centre (CFPP); women’s credit unions, etc.
