PRODUCTION BY A VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL TRAINING INSTITUTION OF A TECHNOLOGY FOR THE CONSERVATION OF PERISHABLE GOODS IN BURKINA FASO.
In collaboration with HES-SO and the Energy Unit, this project aims to reinforce the capacities of professional schools and develop an economic model for the dissemination of suitable technologies.
The rate of electrification in Burkina Faso is at just 9.6% in rural areas (World Bank, 2017). While the country’s economy is dependent on agriculture, which employs nearly 80% of the active population, the vast majority of agriculturists possess no means of refrigerating and conserving perishable foods, such as fruits and vegetables. This thereby creates food waste and harms the fight against hunger and malnutrition.
The project “Mobile Solar Refrigerators” addresses this issue of energy access among vulnerable populations. The approach taken is to support young people within higher education, in order to help them resolve a national energy issue affecting their country. The project aims to reinforce student’s technical knowledge in order for them to conceive and develop mobile solar refrigerators. They will also benefit from a training in entrepreneurship to help them develop a reliable revenue generating activity through the sale of these refrigerators, thereby bridging the academic and professional worlds.
Through a “green business” lens, students are taught about the logic of sustainable development through the creation of a technology that aims to be green, local and affordable. Moreover, the mobile solar refrigerators will be built with the majority of inputs being readily available locally, in order to use recycled materials and valorize local know-how.
The solar mobile refrigerator is an innovation for the market of Burkina Faso. This technology will permit local traders to access cutting edge technology, while avoiding the prohibitively expensive costs of electricity.
A Pay-As-You Go device will also be integrated. This will allow traders to access solar refrigerators through microcredit, thereby improving access and making the technology affordable.
This holistic project thereby corresponds with the Burkinabè’s state’s energy policies. It develops an innovative technology using solar energy, while privileging entrepreneurship among young people and responding to the needs of populations in regards to sustainable development (health, education, environment, and economy).
Contacts
- Antenna: Pierre-Gilles Duvernay
PARTNERS:
