A Sustainable and Cross-Cutting Solution for Social Enterprise and Community-Led Development

Ecological changes, environmental degradation, and unsustainable economic structures often intersect to create complex challenges for communities. Tostan works to recognize these intersections in order to empower communities to combat such challenges at their root. Tostan’s new aquaculture partnership with Yarum Jën embodies this goal, as it provides a cross-cutting solution to problems faced by many African communities.

1. Overfishing: Many wild stocks of fish have been fished to the point of being endangered or have disappeared altogether. This reduces an important food source while putting fishers at increasing risk as they have to venture farther out to sea to catch fish.

2. Lack of protein: persistent food crises and poor regional transportation deprive many geographically remote communities of access to adequate sources of protein.

3. Poor economic infrastructure: many developing regions rely heavily on export-oriented businesses while simultaneously depending on imports for food, including fish. As a result, communities often lack opportunities for local social enterprise that directly benefit community members.

Aquaculture, commonly referred to as fish-raising, can effectively address these issues by providing a reliable source of local fish that in turn reduces the effects of overfishing, supplies communities with much-needed protein, and creates a local social enterprise – a sustainable, scalable, community-led solution that benefits the local economy.

Program Background

In 2007, Tostan was invited by Yarum Jën ( meaning “to raise fish” in Wolof, the local language), a sustainable small-scale aquaculture pilot project in the village of Gniling Mbao, to collaborate on a new development approach.

The Yarum Jën project was conceived as a response to the recent ecological changes in the region of Gandiol, a stretch of coastal land in Senegal south of St. Louis. These changes are due to the man-made channel in the land barrier separating the Senegal River from the ocean. The channel was meant to prevent flooding in nearby St. Louis, but as it has continued to widen through erosion, it has turned the freshwater river ecosystem permanently brackish, seriously reducing the stock of fish and leaving local wells and irrigation systems unusable.

Initial results from evaluations of Tostan’s partnership with Yarum Jën have been very positive. Overseen by a local aquaculture expert w ho serves as Project Director, with guidance from a local technician and the president of the village’s Economic Interest Group (GIE) and with contributions from the entire village, the Yarum Jën fishery has proven to be an effective opportunity for economic activity and ecological conservation in conjunction with the Tostan program in Gniling Mbao.

1. Tostan’s Community Empowerment Program ( CEP) classes build a strong conceptual foundation of democratic decision-making, problem resolution, and microfinance, as well as the importance of environmental protection, thus enabling a more thorough understanding of the technical trainings required for aquaculture.

2. Tostan assists in the development of an aquaculture facility that allows the community to raise and harvest its own fish. Tostan participants utilize the skills learned through the CEP to ensure that it is run properly and that any anticipated challenges are addressed. The fish provide a source of protein to the community and can also be sold in local markets, thereby generating income for the community.

3. The everyday challenges of fish farming provide valuable opportunities for Tostan participants to put classroom theory into practice and use the problem-solving and conflict resolution skills they have learned to produce tangible and sustainable contributions to the quality of life in their community.

Tostan hopes to expand the scope of this innovative partnership model by pairing the community-based modules of the CEP with social business ventures like Yarum Jën in order to provide communities with the tools to develop new economic opportunities and create deeper, more enduring change.

Tostan and Yarum Jën are now seeking partners t o scale up this successful project. The following are the project extension’s primary objectives:

- Implement the CEP in 10 selected communities

- Support the efforts of the villagers to use the revenue from fish sales to develop solutions to critical areas of health and human development, such as bringing potable running water to villages

- Establish an educational fund for graduates of the Tostan-Yarum Jën program to continue their technical studies