betterSoil in Burkina Faso
United Nations invited us to be part of a workshop on private sector engagement in the Great Green Wall Initiative. The aim was to identify what is a “GGW Entrepreneur” and how we can collectively leverage on the opportunities offered by UNCCD COP16 this year in Riyadh.
Great Green Carpet
A complementary innovative approach for the Great Green Wall Initiative. This is what we as betterSoil proposed at this workshop in Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso. Desertification is destroying all good soils, and planting trees is one of the solutions to restore soils, and the Great Green Wall Initiative is pursuing this goal. But not all soils like trees. There are soils that love grass instead of trees. Planting a green carpet of grass can be a complementary solution that restores soil strength, sequesters carbon in the soil and thus contributes to climate protection and reduces water consumption and costs. It's about trees (all woody plants) and grass together for better soils!
Women are empowered
Nothing can stop a woman from Ouagadougou from doing business and earning money. We had the wrong idea about how powerful women are there. Many of the entrepreneurs in Burkina Faso are women. They do everything at home, from washing and bringing up children to cooking. Outside, they actively contribute to building the economy and society. We are very impressed to meet such strong women. It is the first time we have seen a capital city full of bicycles and motorbikes and with few cars. In recent years, Ouagadougou has experienced significant economic growth and development, fuelled by a growing urban population, infrastructure improvements and increasing foreign investment. The city is a commercial centre with bustling markets, shops and businesses that cater to the needs of residents and visitors alike. Small businesses and entrepreneurship thrive in Ouagadougou, with women playing a central role in the local economy. From selling fresh produce at the market to running small shops and craft businesses, women in Ouagadougou contribute to the city's economic dynamism and support their families financially.
Dried mango production for Europe
Every day, 12 tonnes of mangoes are processed here. Huge, isn't it? And this is the owner of this huge production. A lorry stops, unloads tonnes of mangoes and then the work begins. A few employees pack the mangoes into crates, which are then washed. The next step is to peel and cut them into pieces. The mango pieces are then dried, sorted into suitable sizes and packed. Every step and every work is done with hand and manually! This is how we find dried mangoes on the German or EU market. Very tasty and very flavourful.
Papaya, mango and strawberries
This is Berni's farm. He is a trained farmer. He took us on a trip to his farm to show us how mangoes and papayas are grown and how much labour is needed to get a piece of papaya. He is very concerned about the condition of his soil and therefore asked us how best to compost manure and slurry. With two of his employees, he dug large holes in a very sandy, rocky soil to plant more mango and papaya trees. On the other side of his farm, he had a place to combine the shade of the papaya trees with citrus grass and strawberries. Strawberries are completely exotic there, and he can cover some of his costs by selling them at the market. People pay for them.
12 tonnes of compost per day
“Lorries with manure arrive, unload and drive off. It's a good business.” That's what the owner of a composting production told us when we visited her farm. Yes, you heard right: the owner is a woman. She has 12 full-time employees working 24 hours, also nights. 24 to 50 people work seasonally on the composting of manure. After loading, the plastic material is separated from the manure. They add straw and let it compost for two weeks, mixing it twice a day. Cattle manure has 50% organically bound nitrogen and 50% soluble. composting allows 95% of the nitrogen to be bound in the form of organic matter. This means that the nitrogen can no longer go away because it is bound. No greenhouse gases and no leaching. Very effective, isn’t it?
Aquaponic, a startup to thrive
This is Azadeh, Keith and Tobias making selfie. Here we visited an aquaponic plant belonging to a good friend, Keith. He has a start-up and produces fresh lettuce, parsley, mint and onions in water and without soil. He told us that aquaponics is a sustainable and innovative farming system that combines aquaculture (fish farming) with hydroponics (soil-less plant cultivation) in a symbiotic environment. In aquaponic systems, fish and plants are cultivated together, creating a mutually beneficial relationship where the waste produced by the fish serves as nutrients for the plants, and the plants help purify the water for the fish. One of the key components of an aquaponic system is the fish tank, where fish such as tilapia, trout, or catfish are raised. As the fish eat and produce waste, the water in the tank becomes rich in nutrients like ammonia. This nutrient-rich water is then pumped into the hydroponic grow beds, where plants like lettuce, herbs, and vegetables are grown. The plants absorb the nutrients from the water, effectively filtering out the waste and purifying it for the fish.