Network for Ecovillage Emergence and Development in the Sahel (NEED / REDES)

NEED / REDES (Réseau pour l’Émergence et le Développement des Ecovillages au Sahel) aims at fostering the emergence and the development of ecovillages in the Sahel zone.
REDES is committed to play an active part in bringing relevant solutions to the complex environmental and socio-economic challenges communities in the region are facing in their daily lives. Its ambition is to cover all the Sahelian countries including Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and the Gambia.
REDES is a non-profit organisation, which was registered in Senegal in August 2015. REDES has its headquarters in the eco-community of Guédé Chantier (North of Senegal) as well as an office in Dakar.
Dr Ousmane Aly PAME, the founder and president of REDES, is a former mayor of Guédé Chantier. Moreover, he is a founding member and the president of GEN Africa.
REDES is the Sahelian branch of the Global Ecovillage Network/ Africa.
The objectives of REDES are to :

• promote the best ecovillage practices to fulfill the vision of a green and peaceful Sahel
• form socio-professional structures, especially youth and women associations, in the design and implementation of ecovillages
  • increase awareness of local actors and decision-makers to better preserve the biodiversity of the Sahel
  • promote social entrepreneurship for the creation of local businesses and green jobs
  • promote social justice for more equitable and harmonious communities in the Sahel
  • preserve our cultural, gastronomic and medicinal heritage, our sacred sites, our ancestral wisdom while opening ourselves to the fruitful contributions of new technologies
  • educate international partners on the socio-economic, cultural and environmental realities of the Sahel to create strong, productive and sustainable alliances between local actors and partners sharing the ideals and values of REDES
  • build local and international alliances to strengthen initiatives to promote social peace and the creation of community wealth in the Sahel region.