promotion of climat-friendly cooking

Expert in development and implementation of Renewable Energy and Bioenergy projects. Mouhamadou lamine Ndiaye is a Doctor from the University of Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne since 1993. He also holds a DEA in Analysis and Spatial Planning from the same university, a DESS in development economics (IEDES PARIS 1) and a Post University Specialization Diploma (DSPU / IAM BARI in Italy) in project management. He was trained in the Netherlands on the study and implementation of industrial anaerobic digestion projects. 

He is the Managing Director of THECOGAS SN SARL, a company specializing in the study and turnkey construction of industrial biogas units in Senegal and the sub-region. In the Dakar slaughterhouse, his company installed a pilot biogas plant with a 100 kW cogeneration unit and a 4,000 m3 digester. He 's the project manager of the program related to the low carbon system of cooking.

I plan to tackle the problem of organic waste management in urban and peri-urban areas by The use of biogas for a low carbon cooking system.

The generalization of this activity should allow better management of organic waste, there will be less greenhouse gases and therefore mitigation of the effects on climate change. in another case, women's health will be improved.   

Mitigating the effects of climate change is the main objective that we pursue in this work. For this we tackle the problem of waste management and more particularly organic waste which pose a lot of problems in our houses in urban areas especially when the collection is not regular. This problem is widely present across the continent and above all in urban areas. Every day in Dakar, more than 1,500 tonnes of waste is collected and the 25% is made up of organic waste. All the waste collected are throw away to a landfill of 140 hectares   This landfill has long exceeded these capacities and has become unmanageable. The immediate consequence is the pollution of the water table, the population of the air marked by the resurgence of respiratory diseases Often the discharge burns and in addition to the smoke which is released, there are risks for men, there is two years of the dead were counted after a fire. Today the idea of closing this landfill is on the agenda and the difficulty lies in the fact that no community wants it on its territory.

Proposing another way of managing waste, especially organic waste, is the aim of this work. The best waste is that which does not leave the house. To do this, you must offer a simple tool that touches the user in his pocket first before the effect on the environment is clearly visible. Not everyone has environmental sensitivity. We offer home biogas kits consisting of an easy-to-install digester and a gas stove which can be at one or two burners. This stove can be of European type as it can be done locally. The system therefore produces energy for clean cooking. But it also produces an organic fertilizer which allows us to offer a gardening activity on our terraces or space in urban areas for healthy and sustainable food.

The urban fringe of the population of Senegal is the target of a project to promote a low carbon cooking system, but above all the female component of this fringe of the population. They are in charge of cooking activities.  More and more women are in charge of their house because they have had to develop more resilience in the face of the permanent crisis in which they are confined. They have developed resistance strategies through groups for the advancement of women . 

A budget-consumption survey was conducted with women's associations in some local authorities in order to understand the needs of women. This survey was first carried out at the focus group level represented by the umbrella organizations grouping these associations and subsequently the work was carried out at the level of each target organization. Information, discussion and awareness-raising work was carried out at their level and they themselves chose the population of women to be surveyed.

This work allowed us to touch on the share of energy  in the household budget. Finally, to give content to us, we organized visits to a demonstration site where we had installed a biodigester  

“Guarantee access to effective health services, ...; mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change; and to raise awareness so that we grow in empathy, wisdom and love ”. This is the dimension described by the Elevate award… Our project  is completely in line with this explanation.It is aimed at a large section of the population living in urban areas and who aspires to a healthy environment, with little effect on climate change The idea of recovering organic waste  constitutes a major innovation in the urban waste management strategy. Coupling it with a vegetable production system .

This project is the story of a meeting with a young student.  I participated in fora and received a lot of personalities but also school and university students. One day I received the students of a school that I used to receive once a year. After a presentation   a student  asked me "if I believe in what I said, did I have that in my house"?  I replied that I was not working on a house scale, but on an industrial level.   I promised her that the next time we meet I'll have one at home.   I had to find a technology that could fit into an urban environment since I lived in a city.  It was at a fair that I first saw the "Homebiogas.   I installed one at home. I experienced it and adopted it right away.  By using it at home, I realized the opportunity it represented in terms of replacing the microwave  , saving butane gas, managing organic waste and opportunities for income-generating activity, production of biofertilizers   So I decided to set up a “waste to energy” program focused on promoting a friendly cooking equipment climate in urban and peri-urban areas.

I have always worked in economic and social development strategies and in regional planning. Waste management and access to modern and sustainable energy is at the heart of this process of sustainable development. Methanization in addition to producing electricity or cooking energy offers a wider and more inclusive development possibility than any other energy, modern, fossil or renewable. It is the only source that allows access and agricultural development. In addition to better environmental management, it helps combat the negative effects of climate change and thus becomes a tool to mitigate the effects of climate change. 

Improving the conditions of populations in the fields of energy, agriculture, health and the environment thus offers us a real model of development.
So I touch what has always motivated me, the search for a development strategy that allows our young companies to get by on our own. This organic waste management approach is a perfect illustration of this.

Dr Mouhamadou Lamine Ndiaye is a pioneer in the promotion of industrial biogas in Senegal. He has led many biogas project feasibility studies with substrates as diverse as rumen contents, fish residue, horse droppings, banana residue, cow dung etc. He has more than ten years of experience in the field of energy biogas and more than 30 years in economic and social development strategies He decided to embark on the domestic version after having tested it in his own house which is currently used for exhibition room. He has gathered around him a team of seasoned experts in the field and has developed a partnership network with research institutions like CIRAD, the University of Dakar and specialized partners in the field like BIOECO in France and Excellent biogas in the Netherlands. this ecosystem gives it the ability to deliver its commitments as quickly as possible.

For more than 3 years, I promoted industrial biogas in Senegal by advocating the sale of turnkey industrial units. All the business leaders I met at the time found it very interesting but did not take the leap to invest in what I was offering. I understood that the problem was more in the absence of references or models which functioned in our environment So I convinced my collaborators that we make ourselves the first investment. This is how we installed the first unit to produce electricity from the waste of the Dakar slaughterhouse. We made it work and it got more interest in the eyes of others. The academic world, the international community and many personalities have taken an interest in what we do. This allowed us to lead by example

When I started talking about biogas, nobody listened to me like any pioneer in a sector. I shared my loneliness with my office colleagues. It did not deter me, on the contrary, the adversity I faced pushed me to go ahead and realize the first private industrial biogas installation. When the cogeneration group walked and took over the energy and hot water needs of the Dakar slaughterhouse where  , I withdrew into my office to cry. The path I had just traveled was enormous. I never raised my head to look at the top of the mountain, I just tried to climb it step by step. Since the community consults me, I have supervised at least three theses in the field and I am the one who refuses the world today.I remember when I wanted to buy a car for the company dedicated to biogas, I called a salesperson to the heart of the slaughterhouse's recycling center. When he came he looked at me shaping suspicion. He used to find me in my office in an upscale neighborhood. He said to me "I don't know what you do, if you buy a car, it's that you're not crazy"  

We are not part of a larger organization

The “waste to energy focused on promoting climate friendly cooking equipment in urban and peri-urban” program fits perfectly into the circular economy model. Domestic and industrial organic waste is used as cooking energy, which enables low-carbon cooking. The digestate, which is a product of anaerobic digestion, makes it possible to fertilize the soil by restoring the mineralized fertilizing material in the digester, therefore directly assimilated by the plant for the liquid part and the solid fraction makes it possible to rectify the capacity of the soil. The practice of urban market gardening remains a possibility, the digestate can validly replace "micro-macro" offered by the supporters of market gardening practiced on tables.

Waste management in general and organic waste in particular poses a real problem for city management all over the world. to propose a solution which makes it possible at the same time to manage waste, to save money for the households, to earn money by the sale of fertilizer, to improve the food bowl by the practice of the swamping and to safeguard the environment is more a benefit for humanity is the solution.The communities of women who are the target of the project because it is she who cooks will greatly benefit from this type of initiative in addition to improving their sanitary conditions

100 

in one year :  1000

in five year : 6000

Next year we plan to reach 1000 households in Dakar by working with local authorities, young women and people with reduced mobility.
In the next five years, all of the urban frankness of the other regions of Sénéal will be affected. We took the bet to work in an urban environment because we believe as hard as iron that if it works in an urban environment, it will be adopted in a rural environment.

financial barriers,

A mini biodigester is expensive, around 700,000 FCFA the smallest. If we do not have support from the state. it will remain a luxury product for those who have the means.
We are working with microfinance organizations to ease access, but the cost of credit is still high.
We are adapting with women's organizations a flexible funding system based on social control and trust through micro-finance funds managed by women, but it remains very slow to reach the maximum number of people.

techniques,
technically, the model we have chosen is manageable. It's practically plug and play. There is no construction. the only technical constraint is that it is imported and technology transfer is not yet on the agenda.

the availability of sufficient waste can also be a technical constraint

legal,
There is no legal constraint. Senegalese law provides for this kind of initiative.

cultural 
The acceptance of recycling waste for cooking is a real cultural barrier. The connection of the toilets is irrelevant and yet it is one of the important aspects to solve sanitation problems where the sewer system is practically zero

commercially, 

there are only the delivery times with the supplier which is problematic. It can not send by boat which contributes to increase the cost

financial barriers,

Negotiations with the national biogas program have made it possible to recognize us as an important player and therefore possibility of having the subsidy mechanism in the same way as beneficiaries in rural areas.

Technical barriers

we offer a paid local service to obtain waste just in case.

Culturally

 we do a lot of communications, information and awareness raising on the benefits of such a tool whatever the origin of the waste.

We offer a package of activities consisting of: a biodigester complete with a cooking unit, a few tables of micro-gardening, an organic waste delivery service, an after-sales service, a marketing service for biofertilizers and organic vegetables. this model allows the system to work well by ensuring a healthy environment and regular income for beneficiaries

To launch the pilot phase we are looking for a subsidy for 100 households and the related services. The equipment will be sold to beneficiaries at an affordable cost and without interest, but through a credit system with a microfinance organization. the money collected will be used to run the system

We are looking for a subsidy of 240 million FCFA to launch the first 100 units. We are sure that with the natural fertilizer market that is developing, the activity can be quickly profitable.We are in discussion with organizations interested in this kind of initiative And we think before the end of the year collect the amounts we expect

240 million CFA francs is the amount we budget

I submit first because I have been nominated. at least around me someone believed in what I do. I think that disseminating what I do in urban areas in the issue of organic waste is quite innovative and it deserves to be known and recognized. The elevate prize is an adequate medium to popularize this kind of initiative

It is on the financial aspects that I have the most gap because in our environment (Senegal like all African countries) banks do not support this kind of initiatives and donors are more interested in very large projects .
In terms of marketing and communication, this kind of initiative needs support in this area for easier dissemination

on the technical level: the HOMEBIOGAS company in ISRAEL would be an excellent partner in the field of training, technical improvement and technology transfer so that we can produce the biodigester in Africa in Senegal. In financial terms, the green funds of the UNDP and agencies specializing in carbon credit must be able to provide support.
Whatever the foundations, cooperation agencies such as AFD, FMO, USAID must be able to support this kind of initiative