Mini-dairies rescued by solar energy

Not long ago I visited the dairy plant at Kofila (3 km from Léna). The women gave me a sample of their yoghurt, which is packaged in plastic bags. The yoghurt was very good, but the bag was not labelled and sealed. The battery had run out and the power converter could not work, so the sealing and labeling machine could not be used. We decided to try solar energy.

I thus went back to see them on Monday February 15th , with a solar panel and a slightly bigger converter. Recharging their battery to work their sealing machine will no longer be a problem for the women.

 On my return home, by a curious coincidence, I came upon a report in one of the daily papers, Sidwaya (n° 6611) with the heading : « Rural power lines – black out in the country ». It gave an account of the misfortunes suffered by the inhabitants in connection with an investment programme of the Fund for the Extension of Power lines (Fonds de Développement de l’Electrification – FDE). The fund was supposed to provide numerous rural communities with the advantages of electricity. Today their hopes are crushed.

  « The inhabitants covered by the electrification scheme have rapidly lost faith after the failures of contractors, poor work performance, flinching generators, straining co-operative electricity companies (COOPEL), obsolete equipment, sky-high cost of the KW hour (Kwh) and unreliable supply… »

« In some areas light provided by the FDE simply vanished, without any explanation whatsoever, over a year ago. In others the equipment (poles and power lines lying on the ground) have not made it possible to supply good lighting. The operation “Light for all” backed by a multibillion CFA franc investment has simply turned customers into a laughing stock.

Boussé, 50 km from the capital, still does not have a minimum of permanent street or household lighting for its inhabitants, although it has swallowed some 500 million CFA francs (762 000 €) of the budget. The power lines were installed in haste and in defiance of existing rules and are now a dangerous trap. The BTP (Construction and Public Works) has become another fertile breeding ground for white collar and entrepreneurial gangsterism.” (Sidwaya of Feb. 15th 2010).

The electrification programme for rural areas in Burkina is ambitious and has a budget of nearly 158 billion CFA francs (240 million €). Judging from the initial results, one may wonder if it is safe to put all one’s eggs in the same basket. Installing generators in each and every village drives up cost and energy dependence. Why not turn to solar energy as well ?

By using 30 billion (47 million €), i.e. less than 20%, of the fund budget, it would be possible to boost the development of solar energy in Burkina. It is less a question of making a choice on behalf of the population, than a matter of making solar power affordable. And of offering different types of solar equipment as well as starting a vast awareness raising campaign on the uses of solar energy.

There are furthermore some very simple small steps which – when applied on a large scale - could save much fire wood. Why would it not be possible to have a few big water drums, painted black with a transparent plastic cover, in the courtyards of all households in Burkina?

That would take care of the supply of hot water for showers !

Personally I feel encouraged to go further, after the first step towards solar energy at the Kofila dairy. We are going to test solar powered refrigerators. If successful, we could create many more mini-dairies , since the operating cost is very low. A small dairy plant which processes only some ten to thirty litres of milk per day would still be viable. It just remains for us to find the refrigerator best suited for such a project.

 Koudougou February 20th 2010
Maurice Oudet
Director, SEDELAN

 Our thanks to M. Damien Glez and Médiapart who allowed us to reproduce their drawing for this newsletter. Here in Burkina, where the heat is coming on in big strides, we particularly enjoy this picture. Do not forget to click on the drawing and the photos for enlargement.