"We're not climate activists, but we really want to do our part to save the planet. Our goal is to save water and use less energy. We think aquaponics is one way to do that," said Yasmin Niang, co-founder of Gorgorlou, the first aquaponic farm in Senegal.Gorgorlou is a 100% organic farm in Senegal, West Africa, dedicated to growing tilapia, rearing chickens and developing community orchards.Sales go to local restaurants and the cultivation uses renewable energy and rainwater is recycled.The name Gorgorlou means "survival artist" in the Wolof language.Gorgorlou's idea came to life after Yasmin and her husband Moustapha dreamed of moving to Senegal and doing something for the planet.Together they founded Gorgorlou in 2019.Yasmin, Moustapha Niang and the kidsChallenges to grow in Senegal The first step in developing the company, according to Yasmin, was to identify the challenges for food farming in Senegal.With the proximity to the sea, water quality is a big challenge as the water is very salty and needs to be filtered, both for drinking and for irrigation.However, Gorgorlou recently received permission from the government to dig a 32-meter-deep well to access spring water.The greenhouse is prepared for cultivation.Apart from the salinity of the groundwater, Senegal's horticulture is also challenged by unpredictable weather and insect infestations that can lead to total loss of the crops.Access to renewable energy sources is also limited.Yasmin further notes that it was initially a challenge to find local markets for their product, but Gorgorlou now receives daily requests to expand the aquaponic farming system at other farms.In combination with aquaponics, the company has grown various fruits and vegetables so far.Local expertise and materials to develop the project also had to be sought.Finding no one in Senegal to help them with that, Gorgorlou's team spoke to people in Cameroon, Namibia and Kenya.Finally, they invited an engineer from Kenya to visit the farm and help them with the project.Tilapia production has already doubled Gorgorlou started breeding 2,000 tilapias, but now production has reached 4,000 fish.A second pool is already planned to be able to breed even more fish.Restaurants want 500 gram tilapia.It takes six to eight months to reach this weight.In addition to the income from tilapia, turnover is also generated by the sale of various field vegetables, herbs, Hibiscus, fruit, chickens and greenhouse crops such as peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes.There is still plenty of room left for expansion.For all its activities, Gorgorlou opts for sustainable, environmentally friendly practices.The tilapias are currently fed with home-grown spirulina and sepia shell powder.The powder is currently being added to the food, but as it is not sustainable enough for the flock, they are working to transition to more sustainable food sources such as insect protein.The staff is trained on site in construction, aquaponics and general cultivation techniques.Plans to expand and add a training center Gorgorlou has plans to expand in many ways, including building a training center to educate community members and students in organic farming.Yasmin explains that they would like people to visit the farm, learn about aquaponics and spread that knowledge across the country.Yasmin also hopes to build more ponds in the future, increase renewable energy capacity and expand poultry farming."We didn't come here for ourselves. We want to educate people about aquaponics, spread the knowledge about this cultivation method all over the country and give people a good reason to stay in Senegal," says Yasmin.For more information: Yasmin Niang (co-founder) Gorgorlou yasminwhb@gmail.com www.gorgorlou.comWould you also like to receive our newsletter?|click hereOther industry news:<< Back |VegetablesNews.nlSign up for our daily newsletter to receive all the latest news directly by email!You're seeing this pop-up because this is your first time visiting our site.If you always see this message, you have disabled your cookies and they will continue to appear.