What we do
Four strategic areas structure our work. They answer one another: you cannot restore an ecosystem without giving neighbouring communities other ways to live, and you cannot lastingly raise incomes on exhausted soils.
Sustainable farming and agroecology
Ecosystem conservation and restoration
Community development and women's empowerment
Advocacy, training and awareness
Research, data and innovation
Sustainable, organic and agroecological farming
466 women trained, 4 boreholes and 7 irrigation systems installed in Nikki and Gogounou in 2024
More than 70% of Beninese people depend on farming, and nowhere are soils degrading faster than in the north. We support farmers in adopting practices that rebuild fertility rather than exhaust it: crop rotation, compost, mulching, agroforestry and efficient irrigation.
For us agroecology is more than a technique. It is a model that strengthens family farms, values farmers' own knowledge and secures healthy food, particularly for women market gardeners.
What we actually do
- Training in agroecological techniques: composting, rotation, integrated pest management, water management
- Boreholes and irrigation systems for dry-season production
- Support to beekeeping and local value chains (honey, shea, néré)
- Organising women producers into cooperatives and linking them to markets
Related projects: Sustainable GardeningAGIREPA2FV
Environmental conservation and natural resources
14,587 seedlings planted and 15 sacred-forest management committees set up in Alibori and Atacora
Gallery forests, wooded savannahs, wetlands and sacred groves: northern Benin's ecosystems harbour remarkable biodiversity and provide services communities cannot do without. They are retreating under bushfires, extensive agriculture and over-harvesting of wood.
We protect and restore them by systematically involving the people who live alongside them: they are the ones who monitor, plant and set the rules of use.
What we actually do
- Reforestation with local species and maintenance of planted sites
- Village environmental monitoring committees
- Valuing indigenous knowledge and community governance of sacred forests
- Ecological monitoring and data on the buffer zones of protected areas
Community development and economic empowerment
250 women trained in beekeeping and processing, 3 shea–honey–néré cooperatives in Gogounou and Malanville
Rural poverty and environmental degradation feed each other. We act on both at once by giving women, young people and vulnerable groups the means to earn a living in ways compatible with conservation.
Vocational training, cooperatives, microcredit, market access: every form of support aims at lasting autonomy, not dependence.
What we actually do
- Setting up and supporting women's processing cooperatives
- Vocational training for girls and out-of-school youth
- Microcredit schemes backed by cooperatives
- Awareness and referral on gender-based violence, exploitation and abuse
- Nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and community health
- Education for all: support for school enrolment and literacy
Related projects: PA2FVSustainable Gardening
Advocacy, training and awareness
9,253 people reached in 2024 across 11 communes; 800 pupils and teachers targeted by AGIRE in Malanville
No result lasts unless behaviours and policies change. We raise awareness in communities, train local actors and carry the concerns of people living around protected areas to the authorities.
Schools, community radio, forum theatre, international days: we use the channels that actually reach people in northern Benin.
Applied research, data and innovation
GPS baseline of every AGIRE producer; community guide to endogenous knowledge on sacred forests
The "R" in RACED stands for research. It is not a separate statutory area: it feeds the other four. Before acting, we measure; during, we monitor; afterwards, we capitalise so that what worked can be replicated elsewhere.
Our Research, Innovation and Capitalisation department combines ecology, socio-economics and data analysis, working with universities and government technical services.
What we actually do
- Ethnobotanical studies and participatory ecological inventories
- Georeferenced baseline assessments (GPS, photos, KoboToolbox) before every project
- Monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) on measurable indicators
- Methodological guides, technical notes and articles drawn from our projects
Our target groups
Local communities
Especially people living near high-biodiversity areas and facing environmental pressure.
Women, girls and young people
As well as vulnerable or marginalised people, for their inclusion in conservation and their economic empowerment.
Farmers and market gardeners
For the adoption of sustainable, climate-resilient farming practices.
Local and traditional authorities
To strengthen environmental governance and local government involvement in resource management.
Civil society and technical and financial partners
To pool efforts, fund actions and increase their impact.
Schools and teachers
To instil an environmental culture from an early age.
Give
Fund what grants do not cover: maintaining reforested sites, following up cooperatives, travel between villages.
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Internships open all year, volunteering in the field or remotely, volunteer placements and consultancy.
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Projects designed and ready to start, technical support, collaborative research on northern Benin's ecosystems.
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