Humanitarian and Development
Place
Kouroukoro, Guinea
Sponsor
Jean-Christian Pottier
Grant
6,000 € to the Selection Committee 2004/07/06
Project leader
Between 2001 and 2004, the Paris-Sud section of ISF collaborated with the association OVACDI (Organisation volontaire pour l'action communautaire et le développement intégré), grouping the inhabitants of the Guinean village of Kouroukoro, 450 km east of the capital Conakry. After three study missions among the villagers to identify their essential needs, this partnership ultimately brought about the complete electrification of the village.
While this project implies a technical exploit, it is also a societal one: the arrival of electricity has inevitably revolutionized the living habits of the population, and has introduced new ones (for example: working after nightfall!).
Besides, ISF and OVACDI have trained the population in the various uses of electricity and have instilled the basic concepts concerning its management in those of them will have agreed to shoulder responsibility for this new service.
A network running on solar energy
The 6,000 euros grant from the Veolia foundation was used to install a partial electrification thanks to nine solar panels on the roof of a building. The inhabitants come there to recharge the batteries powering their lighting network.