Benin | March – July 2023
The village of Kpotomey in the Sitatunga Valley has 350 inhabitants, and if you also include its three hamlets, there are around 500 people. The village is not connected to the public electricity grid, although it is only around 40 kilometres from the capital Cotonou. The local population therefore uses oil lamps or wood for lighting.
At night, the village of Kpotomey is plunged into total darkness, which creates local insecurity.
The implementation of this community solar lighting project will not only limit the high consumption of fossil fuels and pollution of the Sitatunga Valley Community Nature Park but will also improve educational outcomes by providing lighted spaces for lesson review by village children attending school and by offering the possibility of a well-lit night market.
Martial K. Kouderin
Executive Director CREDI-ONG Benin
Your Climate Fund donation has enabled:
- the purchase of five photovoltaic street lamps
- the installation of the lamps and their maintenance
- sensitising the local population to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation and its consequences for people and nature.
The aim of the project was to install five solar-powered street lamps in the village of Kpotomey, also known as an ecovillage. It was here that CREDI-ONG, member C of NFI, coordinated the project.
The project itself should help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by the use of fossil fuels. Currently, night-time activities are limited to the use of oil lamps, which also has long-term negative effects on people’s health, including respiratory illnesses caused by inhaling the fumes produced by combustion.
The street lamps will contribute to the energy transition and help people adapt to climate change. By reducing the need for firewood, they should also reduce deforestation and, consequently, soil erosion, which have considerable negative effects on biodiversity, regional climate, water regimes and land use, but which people have not really been aware of until now.
Solar street lighting in the village of Kpotomey will be of great benefit to the village.
The living conditions of the local population will be improved in many ways, particularly in terms of safety and educational opportunities, as pupils will have more time to study in the evenings thanks to better lighting.
The market will also be lit for longer thanks to solar-powered streetlights equipped with an automatic on/off system. This will give village women more opportunities to sell their products.
Combined with awareness-raising measures, the introduction of solar lighting will reduce the pressure on natural resources, particularly wood.
About our partner CREDI-ONG
CREDI-ONG has been working for 17 years in the fields of sustainable agriculture, environmental and nature protection and global education. With a young, dynamic team of around twenty people, the organisation is committed to a greener, bluer world, in which people live with dignity and in harmony with nature.