A roof for 2022

AVN/AVIGREF-P:a strong partnership for adapted habitat in Benin

At the beginning of February, Narcisse Sare Ali, AVN National Benin Coordinator, was invited to the 18th General Assembly of AVIGREF-P - Operational Partner for the implementation of the project ‘A bioclimatic construction sector for youth employment in the North of Benin’, financed by the European Union.

At this event, AVN briefed the members of the 32 AVIGREF branches present on its programme of promotion of adapted construction in Benin, in particular through this EU project. The considerable progress made in the three Implementation Units (muncipalities) of AVIGREF was highlighted, as well as the difficulties encountered and the means of overcoming them.

Accordingly, the AVIGREF branches agreed to get involved in the project and motivate the young people in their communities to take an interesst in joining the AVN training programme, and encourage local families to benefit from the incentives for NV construction.

AVN is delighted with this strong and durable partnership and the rapidly growing benefits which should accrue to the communities involved.

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Benin: the second prize-giving event for the most beautiful NV

As part of the project for development of a bio-climatic construction sector for youth employment in North Benin, co-financed by the EU, AVN and the Union Communale des Coopératives des Producteurs d’Anacarde (UCCPA) of Ouaké organised, for the second year running, a competition for the « the most beautiful NV ». This competition aims to motivate NV clients to perfect the finishes of their NV buildings.

The prize-giving ceremony took place in March at the Mairie of Ouaké : three NVs built this season in Djougou were selected by the jury, drawn from AVN, the UCCPA, and the Mairie of Ouaké. The prizes, mainly food products, were awarded to the winners in the presence of members of local authorities and organisations.

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Mali : storage barns for people in the « three frontiers » zone in partnership with AVSF Mali

In February 2022 AVN Mali completed the construction of the first 8 onion storage barns in the Cercles of Gourma Rharous and Mopti in Mali, for the Association Agronomes et Vétérinaires Sans Frontières (AVSF) as part of the « 3 frontiers » project financed by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD). The barns were built by NV artisan-masons and their teams from other regions, as the NV market is not yet sufficiently developed in these zones of northern Mali.

The unstable security situation in the region had slowed down implementation of the project : two sites were mothballed as the villagers had fled. In addition, communication with the teams on-site had been hampered by access problems, and limited availability of water and rocks had also been an obstacle.

The two remaining barns should be completed by the end of the current season for AVSF partner organisations, but on other sites than those earlier identified, in the Cercle of Douentza.

As a result of this project, new collaborative projects between AVN-Mali and AVSF are currently being envisaged.

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Mali : Ongoing deployment of the NV market in the commune of Guégnéka (Centre), supported by ENABEL

AVN Mali is progressing the deployment of the Nubian Vault in the commune of Guégnéka in the Cercle of Dioïla, with the support of the Agence Belge de Développement (ENABEL).
The trainee masons and their teams who had joined AVN’s dual training programme in 2020, had reinforced their technical skills with the construction of « demonstration » NV chicken coops of different sizes, as well as their first buildings for private clients. As a result of the distribution of financial incentives for these buildings, they will be able to strengthen their skills on new projects by the end of the season. 14 NV buildings will be completed by the end of the season through this project. This deployment, supported by ENABEL, should facilitate the mobilisation of new resources and lead to a definitive establishment of the NV market in the region.