The multipurpose platform was designed to reduce rural women’s poverty by providing a source of energy which yields both mechanical and electrical power. It uses a simple diesel engine that can power various tools, such as a cereal mill, husker, alternator, battery charger, pump, as well as welding and carpentry equipment. It can also generate electricity for lighting and pumping water. The technological innovation of the multifunctional platform lies in its multiple functions, its simplicity and its sturdiness. The multiple functions allow it to be used all year, and its simplicity has allowed rural technicians to master its installation and maintenance. It is an example of appropriate technology par excellence. According to the UNDP Resident Representative in Burkina Faso, Georges Charpentier, “This programme is intended to fight poverty in the rural areas of Burkina, while making life easier for women and reinforcing their capacity to organize themselves. It will help to diversify their resource base”.
The US$ 10,900,000 programme is intended to build local and national capacities to fight income poverty and human poverty in the villages. Access to alternative sources of energy will be an important way to diminish poverty, particularly among women. The platforms will allow some 400 villages to increase their agricultural and food production and to diversify their revenue. They will also make drinkable water more accessible for village populations and boost school enrollment rates by relieving some of the household tasks commonly assigned to children.
The first phase of the programme will include four areas: the Eastern region, where the pilot phase has already taken place, the Boucle du Mouhoun region, the Center-West and the North. In each of these regions non-governmental organizations with extensive local experience have been selected to provide technical advice to the villages as they start using the platforms.
Contacts: For more information, contact Theophane Kinda, UNDP Ouagadougou, Tel:+226306762/63 or E-mail: theophane.kinda@undp.org.
For more information on the work of UNDP in Burkina Faso please visit http://www.pnud.bf
Title
Burkina Faso promotes MFPs
Organisations
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Author
GVEP Technical Secretariat
Fuel/Technology
Other, N/A Technology Neutral
Sector Energy, N/A Multi-sectoral
Service Line
Country Actions
Type Article
Region Africa - Sub-Saharan
Country Burkina Faso
Summary
From December 2005, Burkina Faso will integrate the use of the multifunctional platform, a diesel-fueled machine which relieves village women of burdensome tasks such as grinding grains and collecting water, into its national poverty reduction strategy. By 2008, the government, in collaboration with UNDP, will create 400 businesses relying on the use of these platforms. The businesses will mostly be founded and run by women. They will employ 4,000 people and benefit around 500,000 villagers across the country.
Details