Togo

==Events==
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*November 2012: GloboSol annual report: Switzerland/Germany - Partner-meeting “Skillshare” - As a “première,” some of our closest friends and solar colleagues from various foreign countries were invited to visit Globosol with Michael Götz. In the course of a manifold study and sight-seeing program, they also became acquainted with parts of Switzerland and southern Germany. Unfortunately only two guests were able to participate: Lorena Harp from Oaxaca, Mexico, the co-organizer of the project “Food-stalls in Mexico,” and Sourakatou Ouro-Bangna, head of the solar center “Solasol” in Sokode, Togo. It was a stimulating event that nevertheless raised questions and unfortunately required significant administrative expense.
*March 2009: Jeunes Volontaires pour l’Environnement (JVE) taught over 150 people how to build and use solar cookers over the past year and a half. During a general assembly meeting in late 2007, about 100 participants from several cities in Togo, Côte d'Ivoire, and Benin gathered for a workshop in Notse. Over the course of three days, participants learned basic solar cooking concepts and skills, participated in the construction of their own solar CooKits, gained valuable management skills, and heard testimony from JVE project participants about the many benefits solar cookers have brought to their lives. One such testimony came from a woman involved with a JVE solar water pasteurization project in the Vo Prefecture. She discussed how solar cooker use has reduced the number of pulmonary illnesses in the community, and how pasteurization skills have similarly lessened the incidence of waterborne disease. She also spoke vividly about how her status in the community had changed because of her involvement with the project, so much so that the chief now refers all issues of natural resources management to her — an example, she says, of how the role of women in the community is elevated with empowering projects like these. In August 2008, JVE organized Operation Amis du Soleil, a five-day gathering in the Casablanca quarter of Lomé that brought together dozens of people, mostly youth, to learn about solar cooker use and to build solar cookers for JVE’s solar water pasteurization project in Vo prefecture. (Eleven women’s groups in Vo produce solar cookers, but they are not always able to keep up with demand).
*August 2008: Sena Alouka of Jeunes Volontaires pour l’Environnement writes: "I am very happy to inform you that this morning we have started a mass production week, a special operation in Lomé, in response to a special interest expressed by the quarter where our office is based, Casablanca. Actually, the people of Casablanca kept blaming us for bringing the benefits of the solar cooking and water pasteurisation only to the Vo region women, whereas, they who are close to our office, do not even understand how it all work. So we decided, in cooperation with the Casablanca Development Committee, to organise a weeklong training for all interested volunteers, youth especially, to train them about the CooKits production. I am thrilled with joy to inform you that all the men and women of the place gathered this morning to attend the opening ceremony. Several old men and women were in the attendance. At the time I am writing this mail about 55 young people are preparing the glue or applying the foil, while others are cutting the cookers. We have deliberately decided to organise it at the public place of Casablanca, next to the main road, thus bringing lots of attention and interest. The name OPERATION AMIS DU SOLEIL (Operation Friends of the Sun) is aimed at creating awareness around solar applications and harness the volunteer spirit of young people in the area where JVE is headquartered for the benefit of the planet. A new club (CLUB DES AMIS DU SOLEIL) will be created at the end of this week () and will help spread the solar good news to other areas of the city. On Friday, a football match, the distribution of certificates to participants, and other events will close the week, with a serious media coverage. I am sending some pictures which are just 3 hours old, in which you can see this morning's introduction to our project, demonstration, testing the heat, youth participants taking note of the lessons, preparing the glue, applying the foil and Q&A session. It is a nice idea for which I am very proud about. It will be wonderful if we can organise a second session of this in another quarter, as many other quarters of Lomé are asking us to extend the initiative to their area as well. I am convinced that cardboard is a wonderful tool to address some of the energy problems we face today. The amazement I saw in the face of people, even well-educated people who stopped by to see what was going on, is an eloquent testimony of the benefits of the solar cookers."
*December 2007: The General Assembly of Jeunes Volontaires pour l’Environnement was organised 21-23 December 2007, in Notse, 150 km north of Lomé. It was a skillshare on sun cooking designed for youth delegates, JVE-trained women sun cooks, partners from Togo, but also from Côte d'Ivoire and Benin. About 100 participants attended with good gender representation. The message from the conference: World Populations, please GO SOLAR! Photos from the event are here. You can also read a .
*April 2007: Dozens of delegates from many parts of Togo and Ghana attended a conference last December in Lomé themed “climate change: a socio-political challenge.” The conference was organized by Jeunes Volontaires pour l’Environnement (JVE) and showcased solar cooking and solar water pasteurization. Demonstrations and construction workshops were available to conference attendees. Beneficiaries of a JVE solar project shared testimonials of how solar cooking has changed lives in the Vo region. Also attending the conference were Togo’s Deputy Director of the Ministry of Environment, the Chief Cabinet to the Minister of Youth, and representatives of the media. Contact: Jeunes Volontaires pour l’Environnement
*November 2006: Jeunes Volontaires pour l’Environnement organized a regional solar cooking conference this past August in Vogan. Over 60 people from Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, and Togo attended, including Mr. Joseph Odey, a leading solar cooking promoter in Nigeria, and Vincent Nnanna, who has been teaching solar cooking in Benin for years. Youth groups and women’s groups from Togo sent representatives as well. Also attending were Togo’s Deputy Minister of Energy and Water, the Attache to the Minister of Environment, and the Prefect of the Vo District. Many people learned to make and use solar cookers and were shown how to use the cookers to pasteurize drinking water. Some of the attendees from outside Togo were happy to take their newly constructed solar cookers back to their home countries. A parabolic-type solar cooker was assembled and presented to the District Hospital of Vogan. In addition, participants from several countries agreed to form the Network of Solar Actors of West Africa to promote further discussion and to foster the spread of solar technologies in the region. The Togolese Ministries of Energy and Environment sponsored the conference. Additional support was received from Norges Naturvernforbund, a Norwegian nongovernmental organization.
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==Climate, culture, and special considerations==
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*Solar cooker dissemination and cultural variables
*Discussion of West-central Africa's suitability for solar cooking
*Solar cooker dissemination and cultural variables
==Resources==
*See general guidance on raising funds through grants and donations.
===Reports===
*December 2007: Training on Solar Cooker Fabrication in Notse, Togo - Norges Naturvernforbund
===Articles in the media===
===External links===
*Questions courantes sur les fours solaires
Category:Countries
Category:Africa
Category:West Africa
Category:Togo
Category:French-speaking countries