Voix du Paysan: Informing and Empowering Citizens for Social and Climate Justice
In Goma, within the Mugunga neighborhood, the Afrika Vuka Week campaign has served as a catalyst for a local initiative focused on the empowerment of rural women and improved access to affordable energy. Faced with a persistent shortage of electricity, several women have come together to acquire practical skills in producing ecological briquettes— a sustainable alternative designed for household cooking and aimed at reducing dependence on firewood.
There is no more time to wait; we must act quickly in response to this energy poverty in our country, and women must be at the center of this response, said Prisca Simbi, a young women’s leader.
Beyond the energy dimension, this initiative is part of a broader environmental protection effort, particularly in response to increasing pressure on the forest resources of Virunga National Park. By promoting local and accessible solutions, these women are helping to reduce deforestation driven by intensive firewood use, while also developing a green micro-entrepreneurship model that offers hope for their communities.
Since then, women in Mugunga have had no electricity in their households, and this situation continues to this day. That is why we are very happy about the training you have provided us, as we believe it will enable us to produce these ecological briquettes ourselves, which will support our local economy as well as provide cleaner cooking solutions, said Francisca Faida, a women’s leader in Mugunga.
Emmanuel Ndimwiza
Editor
