Solar Installed into community led tourism resort - River #2

A team of EFO solar technicians, Idrissa, Sheka and Alusine have finished the installation of eight solar panels to electrify the community run tourist attraction of River No. 2, an off-grid coastal community on the Western Area Peninsula, near to Freetown. The solar installation will provide light and will power a freezer and some light appliances in the store area, kitchen, restaurant and huts providing accommodation to tourists. EFO is delighted to provide River No. 2 with solar power as it will facilitate smooth running of the facility as well as boosting the community’s efforts to attract tourists by reinforcing their image as an eco-tourism attraction. An expert on sustainable tourism, Mr. Robert Travers, recently completed a study on Sierra Leone’s tourism sector and concluded that, due to Sierra Leone’s natural and unspoilt beauty, Sierra Leone should prioritise eco-tourism and brand itself as the centre of eco-tourism in West Africa. The National Tourist Board here also has plans in the pipeline to support several eco-tourism sites in Sierra Leone but River No. 2 is not included, making this support all the more necessary. The solar installation looks fantastic, placed in the centre of the facility for all arrivals to see, and will definitely promote River No. 2 firmly to the status of “community run eco-tourism resort” which in turn, we hope, will attract more tourists.

The installation has been supported by the EU funded project “Conservation of the Western Area Forest Reserve (WAPFoR) and its watershed”, being implemented jointly by Welt Hunger Hilfe (WHH) and the Environmental Forum for Action (ENFORAC). The project aims to limit the pressures on the Western Area Peninsula Forest by its use as a source of fuelwood and other livelihood activities, by promoting alternative livelihoods such as eco-tourism, to forest edge communities, such as River No. 2. ENFO is proud to be able to provide the expertise to support the achievement of the protection of the Western Area Peninsula Forest as well as helping local communities to thrive and develop sustainably.

The EFO team arrived on Friday the 13^th and spent a day hard at work putting the initial wiring down, with the community assisting in digging trenches to lay down the wires to connect the store, kitchen, restaurant and huts. Alusine showed his competence by efficiently and neatly laying a neat web of wiring (earth mat) at the bottom of the pit that was dug, whilst Idrissa and Sheka moved around the different buildings wiring them up and fixing plug sockets and light fixtures. By the end of the day, a lot of the hard work had been done. They left for a few days in between to allow the community to prepare a base in an open area for the solar panels to be mounted on, and on Tuesday the 17^th they came back to finish the job. By Thursday evening the job was completed and all the buildings were successfully electrified. (Incidentally, this article is being written from the office beside the River No. 2 store, with newly fitted sockets!)