During the 6th Fondacio International Congress in Togo, a group of congress participants immersed themselves in the Dalavé school farm project on Tuesday, May 2, 2023. Founded by Professor Agbati, an entrepreneur, engineer, and teacher-researcher, Feab is a place of experimentation to improve the daily lives of Togolese households with the means at hand, while respecting nature. It is a partner in projects supported by Fondacio that use its technologies.
Reportage
"I was born 25 minutes from here. I followed my mother to the fields from the age of 4. At 7, I was cultivating my small fields of sweet potatoes." Professor Koffigan Agbati, Togolese engineer, business leader and teacher-researcher at the University of Lomé, continues: " After studying nuclear energy, I returned home to transform this small hamlet into a large field. It is time for us to return to the land. I chose one of the most suitable places in Togo because, here, two winds converge: the monsoon and the harmattan."
The professor, director of TMSU international, a social enterprise, is building his project in Dalavé, 30km north of Lomé. The agroecology and bioenergy school farm (Feab) was built in 2015. This research and development (R&D) laboratory is carefully organized into several islands. They are either cultivated (vegetables, plants, tubers), or reserved for livestock (ducks, goats, chickens, fish) or for manufacturing workshops (improved stoves).
Prototypes are everywhere: water purifier, modeled composter (degradation of materials in two weeks instead of three months), essential oil extraction system… " Feab was born from a simple observation: the autonomy of man and energy. We have created an integrated system."
A virtuous circle
To achieve this, the professor and his teams have focused on the development of bioenergies, which are part of the large family of renewable energies. " For example, we have developed a solar dryer (for vegetables, cereals, tubers, etc.), a carbonization tank and a geothermal system. We also capture the sun's heat using mirrors," explains Koffigan Agbati. At the same time, the school farm uses solar panels to pump water from a depth of more than 93 meters. Here, it's simple: nothing is lost, everything is recycled.
Illustration with wet livestock or crop waste (corn, etc.). They are placed in the biodigester (90 tonnes), which produces biogas and provides liquid energy. "It's a virtuous circle. The biogas then produces light and becomes a source of heat." In particular, it supplies a fireplace that recycles plastic bags, without releasing toxic fumes. Under the effect of the heat, the plastic melts. The smoke passes through a pipe that goes back down to the fireplace and supplies it. Paving slabs are then obtained by mixing the magma with fine sand.
Solutions accessible to all
Another example is the animals raised on site: they are treated with herbal decoctions grown by the farm school. " This way, we do not depend on veterinary chemistry." Professor Agbati explains: "We do things in an accessible way so that the old mother in the village can use them easily. We train village chiefs in these technologies, in seven different languages and five countries (Togo, Benin, Ghana, Senegal, Cape Verde). The agroecological vision needs to change in Togo. "
To this end, Feab regularly welcomes interns, both Togolese and foreign, and trains hundreds of students at the University of Lomé. It is a partner of nearly ten universities in France (Aix-Marseille, Toulouse, Montpellier, etc.). Awareness-raising activities in Togolese schools are also organized. " Every Friday, we install a model of biodigester and small mobile composts. We also do eco-slam, slams on the environment. But the fundamental thing is the everyday friend: Sichem. It's like a single family, with Christ at the base. Many things connect us. We share the same philosophy of development."
"The land here is paradise"
Sichem and the Fondacio Training Institute (IFF) in Africa are partners of TMSU International and Feab. "We met the professor at the French Embassy," says Ferdinand Adindjita, director of IFF Africa. " He carries a message of humility and modesty." Sichem uses the technologies developed by the professor and his teams. The center has installed a biodigester. It has been using improved stoves (for cooking) for two years.
"Sichem reaches 11 villages and 60,000 households," continues Ferdinand Adindjta. " We can perfect and popularize the use of improved stoves there. This partnership has many ramifications." At the Fondacio International Congress in Togo in May 2023, water was purified with filters developed by Feab. Since its creation seven years ago, this water energizer has also been used by many health centers in Togo.
Antoine Dzama, responsible for monitoring the Africa Office and IFF Africa, says: " I was part of the Fondacio Board from 2001 to 2018. After the Congress in the Philippines in 2018, I left with the certainty of being expected there, on the ground. I returned to deep convictions: the land here is paradise. I found at home what I was looking for everywhere. " He adds: "In Togo, we say that a source is never great. The Feab is a source place. It draws on the knowledge and know-how of our ancestors, who cultivated this land. I pray that it will be a source place for Fondacio."
"Follow the principles used here"
Today, Professor Agbati counts three forms of benefits: ecological, economic and socio-cultural. " These are the three pillars of sustainable development. On the social level, I manage to feed 300 young people per month and to integrate people into the job market. Personally, this brings me inner peace. We have gone beyond the challenges by working collegially. The life of man is to dominate the challenges, together. It is also to share the problems and solve them together."
Marc Bezançon, in charge of international fundraising at Fondacio, confided, after the visit to the Feab: "First, I am touched by the effort of imagination and R&D to build operational and useful solutions for all. Then I tell myself that we are so far behind, in Europe, on everything that should be used to better treat our planet... We could do it if we followed the principles used here." François Prouteau, president of Fondacio from 2013 to 2023, added: "We are turned upside down. It is up to us to make good bread out of it to be good Earthlings."
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