With our Observers in Dakar (2/3): how a “green district” has inspired all of Africa

Published on : 06/21/2022 – 18:15Modified : 06/21/2022 – 18:18

“The main thing is that everyone becomes aware of their living environment and I don’t despair: I think that in 25 or 30 years, we will have a very clean, green Dakar in our alleys”. At 47, Abdou Toure has found a vocation as an “environmental guide”: he makes his neighborhood neighbors aware of street cleaning and tree planting. But it is also addressed, thanks to the power of social networks, to a community that has spread to fifteen African countries, inspired by its approach.

It all started in 2019, right outside his door:

One fine day I noticed that there was a lot of garbage on my street. I decided to put my phone on a tripod, take time-lapse footage, and share the video on social media to inspire people to consider the living environment.

Abdou Touré multiplies the videos and launches a hashtag, the Green neighborhood challenge. At the same time, he is developing a series of plantations on his terrace, ranging from red cabbage to strawberries and mint. His biggest challenge: apples. The current plant is currently holding up better than last year’s. It is therefore a real vegetable garden that he maintains in the heart of the Zac Mbao district, in a concrete Dakar: “when we take the plane or fly over our districts, it is downright cement cemeteries” laments Abdou Toure. In the Senegalese capital, green spaces are almost non-existent and the air is often heavily polluted.

From Mauritania to Comoros

Published on Twitter or Facebook, the images of its street and its terrace have ended up making people envious: in three years, the Quartier vert Challenge has been duplicated from Mauritania to the Comoros, everyone being free to associate the ecological gesture they want with it .

In Chad, Togo, Ghana, the Comoros, young people appropriate it in relation to their context. In Mauritania, they do a lot of sessions in schools and reforestation. In Côte d’Ivoire, they are much more in the management of plastic waste for example.

Our Observer believes that the model of its terrace can also be a source of employment: “in Dakar, young people have started to create their own micro-enterprise in urban agriculture: they sell the fruit of their plantations in their neighborhood. It is a small income but it can grow”.

This is one of the dreams of Abdou Touré, who aspires that from his neighborhood to those of the big African cities, his initiative inspires the greatest number.

Our full report:

In his eastern stronghold of Dakar, the online success of the Quartier Vert Challenge has made Abdou Toure a household name, preaching the green word door to door. He thus converted many of his neighbors not only to cleaning but also to planting: “I give them seeds, I explain to them how to take care of the tree but I don’t want to have to maintain it, it’s it’s up to them to take care of it afterwards”.

One of his neighbours, Ousseynou Aïdara, who grows a coconut tree in front of his door, says he is delighted: “My 6-year-old daughter and I take care of this tree daily. At first it was the size of my daughter and now it is bigger than me. , it’s nice, and it’s all the fruit of Abdou’s work”.

Like his young neighbour, Abdou puts the emphasis on children. In his neighborhood school, he encourages students to plant trees in the yard and has installed sorting bins. And regularly, he organizes neighborhood clean-up sessions with young people. The objective is clear: in a country that is still far from making ecology a priority, to make the next generation aware of the urgent need to integrate the philosophy of the green neighborhood into their daily lives.