Northern Ghana suffers from a relentless cycle of extreme droughts and devastating floods. But what it does have going for it is an abundance of year-round sunshine, and that’s a blessing for farmers who have been helped by CEAL (Centre for Ecological Agriculture & Livelihoods) to take advantage of the few resources that they do actually have.
CEAL recently trained 25 young people in the construction and use of solar driers to give local famers a clean energy-powered resource that is efficient, sustainable and has little impact on the environment. The organisation promotes sustainable farming in the region which helps thousands of farmers and their families live through the tough lean seasons while becoming more self reliant.
The solar drivers are used for the processing of seeds, nuts, fruits and grains and for preserving vegetables. Not only does this help improve food security in the region, it also provides sustainable employment for the young people who build the driers, and business opportunities for them to grow and flourish by manufacturing and marketing the appliances to other communities.
The programme is another brilliant example of how external and foreign organisations and NGOs can support and co-invest with local teams like CEAL, who in this case enjoyed the support of ELPG Netherlands, Winrock-Ghana, UNDP/GefSGP and HSF Kenya.
You can learn more about CEAL at: https://www.cealghana.org/