It is also aimed at enhancing food safety and improving the working conditions and income generation of women artisanal fish processors.
ECOWAS FRSD Gambia pilot TC in collaboration with EnDev Senegal introduced the Innovative Nopale Stove in The Gambia, a wood-saving technology that also contributes to climate resilience.
The facility is provided through the Micro-Enterprise Startup Support Initiative (MESSI) mini-grant scheme implemented in partnership with the National Association of Cooperative Credit Unions in The Gambia (NACCUG). The women received small equipment and appliances to enhance fish preparation, handling and hygiene.
Evelin Ayadi-Krenzer, AV FRSD said the Gunjur project is to help fish smoking which is predominantly the activity for women at the fish landing site. She added that the Nopale, since its arrival in The Gambia has paid its debt on several occasions in their project region.
“We hope that with this GIZ innovation, the Nopale will begin to transform the landscape along our coastal waters and beyond,” she added, while calling on the government of The Gambia and development partners to support women with Nopale to help improve their health and increase the possibility of exporting smoked fish products to regional and international markets.
Beneficiaries expressed joyous sentiment and thanked GIZ for their continuous support to women in the fishery sector. They also assured GIZ of the best use of the oven while appealing for more to boost their earnings and improve their work environment.
Fish smoking is predominantly the most popular form of artisanal fish processing activity carried out by mainly women operating along the coastal fish landing sites and within many rural communities in The Gambia. These operations tend to be small-scale and informal, using traditional methods with unconventional materials which may severely impact the environment and health of people.
The GIZ Technical Cooperation (TC) component of the Fund for Regional Stabilization and Development in Fragile Regions within ECOWAS Member States (FRSD) on behalf of The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has over the past 4 years successfully implemented numerous intervention measures in The Gambia.
