Multifunctional Platform Installation Project for Income-Generating Activities Development in Rural Areas
The Italian NGO LVIA has embarked on installing multifunctional platforms in rural localities within the Thiès department. I conducted a photo report in one of the villages in Senegal, and I would like you to find online information about what this project entails to complement my photographs.
Income-generating activities remain underdeveloped in rural areas. This economic insecurity exacerbates the phenomenon of rural exodus, driving people away from their communities in search of better opportunities.
To address this challenge, ANER is implementing a transformative project aimed at providing electrical energy needs for more than six thousand (6,000) inhabitants across sixteen (16) villages in Senegal through solar multifunctional platforms (PTFM), funded by UEMOA.
The project’s primary objective is to facilitate rural populations’ access to modern and sustainable energy services, promote economic activities around the platforms, and improve the social conditions of women in rural environments.
These innovative solar platforms will serve as community buildings housing multiple services powered by solar energy, including grain mills, freezers, phone charging stations, water purification units, and various multi-service facilities. They represent an intermediate electrification solution between individual equipment (solar kits) and the electrical grid, enabling the development of proximity economic activities in isolated villages.
In summary, this project enables:
- Creation of new income-generating activities centered around the platforms
- Improvement of social conditions for rural women by reducing difficult working conditions and labor time
- Increased income for local populations
- Direct job creation
- Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
The initiative has been warmly welcomed by beneficiary populations who view it as an effective way to combat poverty, ensure sustainable development in their localities, and simultaneously alleviate the harsh labor burdens faced by women. The village of Keur Khaly Sarata in the Tivaouane department serves as a compelling example. A mission from Italy witnessed this transformation during a recent visit to this village, which has been a partner of the Italian NGO for over a decade. Today, Keur Khaly Sarata boasts a hydraulic infrastructure with wind pump, a water cooperative, and its multifunctional platform.
