Gambia

George Riegg, Greenie © For a Greenie-er Happier, Healthier Gambia
November, 2009

It's been just over a year now that you first kindly posted my "Greenie" concept paper. (Introducing Greenie )

Well, sometimes good things take their time especially if you have to work with very limited resources. But believe and perseverance finally have paid off !!!! :o)

With a local teachers association as lead agency and me acting as project developer and manager we have been awarded a small grant of US$ 10,000 under the UNDP GEF SGP to run a trial of our Greenie book dissemination initiative
- the little thing has been turned from a product into a teaching aid !

"This project has been conceptualised by the Artist and the Project Developer. To build the framework and implementation structure many local partners have contributed in the hope and believe that this way of dissemination and awareness building will make a real long lasting impact at every level of the community.

http://sgp.undp.org/web/projects/15081/building_capacity_on_environmenta...

At a project cost of US$ 2.00 per book 5,000 young children, their families and their communities can be reached. When implemented with care and skill it will help to improve many aspects of their way of life and their understanding and interaction with their environment."

Introducing Greenie©
For a Greenie-er Happier, Healthier Gambia
George Riegg, Paper Recycling Skills Project, Serekunda, The Gambia October 12, 2008
Greenie
Greenie

Every cause needs a champion and our environment deserves the best. Especially in a society where over 65 % of the population have to live below the official minimum income subsistence threshold “ Environmental protection “ can be a very complex and abstract issue but as soon as we introduce a personal and human element we create a focal point for all to understand.

“ Greenie© “ is a staunch environmentalist, loves all things natural and especially trees. She lives in The Gambia and likes planting things, nursing them and watching them grow – her biggest horror are litter and waste in the environment and she is always happy and eager to explore new ways of re-using and re-cycling them and share her experience.

Our plan is to join her in her adventures of helping to make The Gambia an even more beautiful place to live in and to visit. Her stories will be told in little 24 page pamphlets, showing her in real-life situation photographs accompanied by fun and educational copy-writing. The booklets will be published by PRSP in collaboration with her Artist creator, Caroczel, produced to a professional standard and will be a fun way to create environmental awareness for all age groups within the community.

Fuel efficient wood-burning domestic stoves & Compressed bio-mass briquettes
Fuel efficient wood-burning domestic stoves & Compressed bio-mass briquettes

This type of stove has been developed and refined over the last 30 years. It is designed to use wood and other alternative bio-fuels in briquette format. This particular method of construction allows the harmful gases – which on a normal fire are seen as smoke – to be trapped and heated sufficiently to burn and create a secondary combustion. For the same amount of fuel we generate at least twice as much heat for cooking. Add to that other design features in the stove – better air control, a “ skirt “ around the pot base – and we increase its efficiency by as much as 3 times. In effect we only need one third of the fuel in comparison to an open fire to achieve the same result.
Briquette
Briquette

The stove will be custom designed for The Gambia’s conditions taking into account the maximum size of a standard domestic cooking pot and dietary requirements. It only comprises of 4 simple parts, its use is easy to learn and safe and it can be manufactured with tooling available on an industrial and local level from new or used steel and parts.
Briquette in Stove
Briquette in Stove

Cheers
George and Greenie
and Caroczel the artist

PRSP Project Contact:
George Riegg
General Manager
Mob: +220 770 7090
Email: icecool@qanet.gm

Roger Samson, REAP-Canada, April 2006

In the Gambia, wood is used for cooking, construction, and local tool production. There is often more need for wood, than the number of local trees can support.

REAP-Canada developed the Mayon Turbo Stove to help reduce people's dependency on wood as a source of fuel for cooking meals. This stove was developed by REAP in cooperation with the local people of the Gambia, and it burns well with selective crop residues. millet husks, peanut shells, corn cob pieces, small pieces of grass and rice hull. This allows the women of the Gambia to forage for fuel close to home, relieves a burdon on families that would otherwise be paying for fuelwood. For more information, see the REAP-Canada web site: Mayon Turbo Stove: Gambia Case Study

Mayon Turbo Millet Husk Stove and Bokashi
Roger Samson, REAP Canada April 2006

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