CROSS-BORDER WORKSHOP ON TOLU KEUR AND ECOVILLAGES AND THE GREAT GREEN WALL

Following the organization of the second edition of the Festival des Ecovillages (February 15-18, 2025), a major cross-border workshop on Tolu Keur (family farms), ecovillages and the Great Green Wall was held in Lahel on Monday June 23, 2025. Two hundred and fifty participants from 20 villages in the communes of Dar el Barka, Boghé (Mauritania), Gamadji Ndioum, Guédé Chantier, Guédé Village. 70% of these participants are women involved in family farming, beekeeping, livestock breeding and food processing.

This workshop was organized by the Réseau pour l’Emergence des Ecovillages au Sahel (REDES), with the support of the German Hübner und Kennedy Foundation, the German Ecovillage Network (GEN/ Germany), with the remarkable participation of the Mauritanian Ecovillage Network REMEV, the Association de Développement Communautaire Salaayel (Loboudou, Dar el Barka), the Association pour la Valorisation des Plantes Médicinales et du Miel (AVPMF), Eco-Renaissance (Guédé Chantier) and other associations whose members often reside on either side of the Senegal River.

The workshop was led by Mr. Aly Ndiaye, agricultural engineer, sustainable development expert, green entrepreneur and division head at the Agence Sénégalaise de le Reforestation et de la Grande Muraille Verte (ASERGV). He completed his higher education at the Université Fédérale Rurale de Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, where he also obtained a master’s degree in organic agriculture. In Brazil, he forged strong links with members of the government and community cooperatives.

Mr. Ndiaye presented the challenges, implementation and success of Tolu Keur in the central and eastern regions of Senegal. He demonstrated the project’s relevance to the regeneration of natural and socio-economic ecosystems. In their conception and implementation, the Tolu Keur are integrated market gardening, agropastoral and poultry farming practices that are carried out in ten days, and enable a healthy, sustainable diet to be generated in record time (six months) and on an ongoing basis, free from the chemicals responsible for soil degradation and population health, and the economic impoverishment of communities.

Tolu Keur puts farming families back at the heart of the production process by controlling inputs (seeds, organic phytosanitary products), mastering soil and climatic conditions, and using simple, low-cost technologies. Training and support are essential for mastering production factors and implementing Tolu Keur. Properly understood and implemented, Tolu Keur enables families to feed themselves and earn a sustainable income. To reinforce the overall dynamic, expert Aly Ndiaye recommended the creation of farmers’ cooperatives and the organization of producers’ fairs. He remains ready to support REDES, REMEV and ADC Salaayel in setting up pilot farms in both northern Senegal and Mauritania.

Mr. Aly Ndiaye’s presentations, systematically translated into Hassanya and Pulaar, were followed by questions, contributions and discussions that broadened and deepened the overall understanding of Tolu Keur and ecovillage practices. Further exchange meetings are planned.

The manager of REDES tree nursery, Abdoul Dia gave a presentation on composting techniques used in the cross-border tree nursery. This nursery has produced over half a million trees for the benefit of the valley’s Senegalese and Mauritanian communities.

The presidents of the association of Loboudou community development, the Mauritanian Ecovillage Network (REMEV) and Founder of REDES (respectively Aly Ly, Moctar Sow and Ousmane Pame), gave a presentation on REDES vision and Work.

The meeting closed with the planting of trees in the REDES emerging nursery forest by Aly Ndiaye, Aboubacry Hamet Ly, President of ADC Salaayel, and Sow Moctar, President of REMEV. It was a great source of learning, inspiration and motivation for all involved.

Learned Lessons

1. The importance and design of Tolu Keur (Family farms) in ecovillages Tolu Keur are part of the programme of the Senegalese Agency for Reforestation and Great Green Wall. They have multidimental and integrated aspects. Their aim is to restore broken ecosystems, to provide food and income to families. It combines poulty, cattle breeding surrounded by a variety of plots with vegetables, medicinal plants, food, shade and fruit trees, green fences and the use simple, local materials and seeds. The projection of a documentary film on grassroots community farmin successes in Kedougou ( Sénégal) has been inspired the participants.

2. The health of land, food, humans and local economies go together. The disturbance or unbalance of one affects the other dimension. It is essential to implement strategies that keep each segment in place. Healthy and organic soils, natural seeds, clean waters, polycultures are the essential ingredients for healthier families and communities.

3. How to manage salty lands: By avoiding to add urea fertilisers and using tree like Cocoa tree that thrive on salty soils. Avoid the use of tap water which often contains chemical.

4. Bees are not enemies of mango trees. Some farmers complaints that bees colonise their mango trees during the floodings. They lost some trees. The guest speaker and the beekeepers made it clear that bees, (insects in general) birds like bats cross fertilise trees and increase production. Some trees died because their roots rotted after staying under the waters for weeks.

5. Important to trim lemon trees for more fruit. The trees keep growing up, providing shade but no fruit. It is important to trim the trees to increase their vitality and fruit production

6. Green fences are essential to protect the soil and the trees and vegetables. It is essential to stop farm soil erosion, keep humidity in the soil and in the air. Planting trees in and around the farm, growing vegetables and medicinal plants between dffrent tree species is crucial to regenerate the land and sustain the vitality of the ecosystem

7. How to make compost for tree nursery Abdoul Dia the manager or REDES tree nursery shared his experience on how to make compost for seedlings. It is important to respect the dosage of sand and manure. Too much manure will make the compost acid and kill the seedlings. A lack of manure may also affect the growth of the plant. The compost bag is like a placenta. It is important to have the correct parameters and atmosphere for an optimal growth of the baby plants.

8. The vision, history, achievements and challenges of REDES were shared by Aly Ly, Ousmane Pame and Moctar Sow. The local actors, especially the people participating for the first time to REDES activities got a better understanding of the mission of the organisation and its partrners

External communication

REDES President wrote thank you letter to Aly Ndiaye. This letter and a report in French was sent to the Director of National Agency of Ecovillages
An illustrated report in French was emailed to about 200 journalists. Here is the link on online press: https://www.lactuacho.com/ecovillages-et-tolu-keur-tenue-dun-atelier-transfrontalier-pour-une-agriculture-durable/

A 26- minute video in Pulaar, French and Hassanya was made and posted online and will be widely shared: https://youtu.be/v0nUMcLoVzA?si=4dCqz4ln4yevYIVS