Programme for Sanitation and Protection of

the Environment (PrAPE), Benin

Mr. Raphaël Edou: DCAM BETHESDA

Mayor Alassane Seidou: Commune de Kandi

Case study for

Workshop and Networking Event

Building Bridges with the Grassroots:

Scaling up through knowledge sharing

12th, 13th, 17th September 2004

World Urban Forum, Barcelona

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 CASE STUDY : PROGRAM FOR SANITATION AND
PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT (PRAPE) BENIN

Introduction

PrAPE is an experience in living conditions improving in Benin. Benin is located in West

Africa and has six million citizens, mostly young. Half of this population is living in cities or
towns. Politically, Benin has been stable and is led under a democratic system where
individual’s freedom is respected. About two years ago, decentralization had become a
reality. Since then, the populations are happy to build their future by themselves. This
peaceful feature made of the country a dynamic place in the region which receives many
foreign people from around the world. As a result, urbanization rate in Benin is growing up
considerably (about 38% ); as such we need to pay more attention to urban areas.
In 1993, the Bethesda health center launched the promoting public health process by
developing many activities to clean the urban area and to improve living conditions.
Furthermore, sanitation activities started in the neighborhood around the center. This
experience consists of garbage collection and treatment, improving of income generating
activities, training of local community and cooperation with public administration and
national or international agencies which are good examples of sanitation issues and
community development in Benin.
Initiated in poor neighborhoods in Cotonou, this experience has been duplicated in many
towns in the country with EED financial support and was also recognized as a best practice
in 2002 by the program “ Habitat of the United Nations”. This initiative is very helpful for
all the people in urban areas of developing countries because of its high learning skill. PrAPE
is also useful for the whole world due to its sustainable development issues.
The context in which this experience was established, the strategy using, the results
obtained, and its duplication strategy are the main parts of this presentation.

1. Context of the project

In 1993, in partnership with the community of Ste Rita’s neighborhood, the Bethesda health
center started this experience whose objective is to improve the health preventive system.
By that time, Benin was trying to overcome political, economic, social, and a deeper crisis,
which fortunately carried it into a democratic policy without bloodshed after the national
conference in 1990. The waste management department too was affected by these financial
problems and within the whole city of Cotonou, the department could work but with only
three trucks. Before Pr.A.P.E., there was no garbage collection by the government or any
other source. Consequently, the trash was not collected as it should be and as a result many
peolpe just threw their garbage away in the streets. In the streets where there were holes,
they simply dumped the garbage. At Cotonou, a city located between the sea in the south
and the lagoon in the north, for instance, the situation was dramatic. Household garbage
surrounded persons near their houses, in the streets and canals. As a matter of fact the
population suffered many illnesses, e.g. gastroenteritis. According to statistics from this
center, established in 1990 by Mennonite missionaries from the United States, Canada, and
France with Benin’s churches, the number of patients doubled each year. To solve this pubic

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health problem, Bethesda initiated this project with the neighborhood association in this
area where there are no collection sites and Cotonou did not have a land fill.

Tableau1 : Sanitation Situation between 1992-1993 in the previous department of l’Atlantique

Diseases Rates (%)

1992 1993
Malaria 29,11 32,83
Diarrhoeic diseases 12,41 4,33
Bronchopneumoniac diseases 11,30 11,52
Anemia 6,54 7,32
And other kinds of traumatism 4,09 4,20
Source : Public Health Minister

2. Project’s goals

Develop a sustainable waste management system in Ste Rita's neighborhood,

Treat ecologically collected garbage in an appropriate site, promote job creation,
Dialogue with government and share the responsibilities about waste management,
Build the managing abilities of local organization.

3. Strategies of the project

One of the specific features of the project was its community approach, which consists of
many meetings, discussions, dialogues between the local authorities, women's associations,
young organizations, seniors, and public services to choose the main goals and all the desired
results.
In fact, the government, the civilian society and French cooperation agency were involved in
the planning of this initiative. This process lead to a formalized agreement with the
community that clearly explained how the activities were shared between the NGO and the
community. The approach had taken a long time, about 18 months. However, it was the
juncture for the building of confidence between all the people involved with this experience.

4. Steps of the project and its different actors.

a- Initiative of the project

The database in the Bethesda health center pointed out how the same people were always
coming back to the center with the same diseases. So, the board decided to evaluate the
preventive care system in the hospital and finally thought they had better improve the living
condition in the community and help this community to take control of all future
responsibilities regarding their sanitation issues. The health center had created the
department for community development and environmental protection which alerted the
community and other participants about the powerful need to do something in order to
prevent the health of people from diseases.

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 b- Planning of the project

This step took a long time because the approach was founded after negotiations with
various people touched by the project. Despite of its length, this methodology has been the
virtual reasons for the success and consisted of :

Meeting with local authorities to think of how everything must be done and how the
committee that was in charge must be chosen on behalf of the population. The
agenda for this meeting was about to figure out the best way to make the system
work. Because they must become self-sufficient in the future, we decided together
of the fees people had to pay per month for waste collection. Some person didn’t
believe that it was possible to get this money from the people. However, the fee
was finally decided at 0.4 Euro for each house per month.

The choice of the first activities was to get people’s attention so that they could
join the project and work together. The community chose to start the project by
filling all the holes in the streets where people were throwing their trash and at the
same time suspress all the land dumping. The interesting things were the project
was changing anytime a new need seemed important for the populations.

Visiting many public offices to get their advice was one of the strengths of the
project. The waste management departments in Cotonou and Porto-novo were
contacted and had an understanding about their project ideas and expressed their
feelings and concerns about what we wanted to do. The environmental and health
ministries were involved and attended many educative meetings in the community.
The negotiations with the French cash development took place simultaneously and
their flexibility made some changes possible to be able to take the community needs
into account.

Final adoption of the project by a technical committee was composed by the

representative of the French Embassy, Financial Minister of Benin and the United
Nations development program in Benin. This committee gave an orientation for the
project and approved it as a hope for sustainable development in Benin.

Finally, the preparation of the project, which was very long, ended correctly with the
financial supply, the land for the recycling center and all the permission we needed from the
environmental ministry had been concluded.

5. Project activities

a- Education on health and environmental issues.

It consisted of teaching many topics about sanitation, environmental protection, and the
relations between both domains. We explained to people how they had better clean up their
houses and neighborhoods to save their income in case of diseases care fees. Even if it is
difficult to understand the environmental aspects of waste management, the health issues

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were the best ways to catch the attention of people and help them protect themselves. The
government often supports this education program by attending some special events, that is
the case of the launching of the project in January of 1995. On that day, the environmental
minister came with the French agencies. He also came to our final day to give a prize for
schoolboys who won the award for the contribution of young people for environmental
protection. All of these examples, were in a good cooperation between the initiative and the
government .The education has continued, but is now focusing on sorting waste in houses and
separating the organic and inorganic matter. There are currently six thousand household
participating in this program.

b- Waste collection activities.

Suppressing the dump. The first act is to suppress the dumping on the ground and
to clean up the area and also to keep this site cleaned for the whole term of the
project. This means to avoid letting people throw their trash anywhere. Because we
use a chat to collect waste from house to house, we needed some places in the city
where the garbage was gathering until its collected by the truck and taken to the
recycling center. Any delays in the collecting schedule made people in this area
angry because of the smell and the flies around the site and the nearby houses. The
strict adherence to the collecting schedule was the indicator of people in the
community that the work is been done well.

Precollection. It is the most important step in the system and it needs to become
financially and ecologically sustainable to be self-supporting.
Young people who collected waste from to door to door, then till to the site, where
they gathered it, used the cart made locally in the community. Twice a week, the
garbage has been collected with a compensation of 0.4 euro a month in 94; 0.8 in 95;
1.6 euro in 1999 and 2.4 euro today. The level of collection rate was 0% in 94; 20%
in 95; 50 % in 1997 and more than 90 % of the households nowadays. The funds
raising level was from 20% in 1994 to 95% in 2001. The collection activities have
continued and were lead by the local organization. At the same time, we established
the recuperation of materials like plastic for our plastic recycling center, where
more than 100 tons of granulated plastic are available a year.
Two years ago, a new program started and used our granulate from recycling plastic.
This activity is a way, to help develop small recycling factories. In the same way,
households are encouraged to sort their waste at home. In fact, six thousand
households are doing well. There are currently two contemnors : one for organic
matter and the second one for inorganic matter. In this way, we reduce the amount
of waste being transported to the landfill, and it also increases the life of the land.
Our experience permitted to make an economy of transport of 15.262,5 FCFA
(either 23,27 euro) by ton of garbage.
The pre-collect activities have been extended to the whole city of Cotonou, which
recognized this approach of waste collecting. The environment ministry supports
these activities in the county and has donated trucks, carts, bottles, and gloves. All
the NGO in Cotonou created a network and 75 NGOs are members. The Oxfam
Quebec helped them to build their capacity. The ONGs are using seven hundred

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 workers, with half a million euro a year. A national network by PrAPE is creating in
order to gather them together to defend their corporation and avoid being ejected
by the new mayor of the cities. A good, small experience is often denied because it
lacks the support of the local authorities

Transportation. At the beginning, we used the only one truck belonging to PrAPE to
transporte the garbage gathered to the sorting center about twenty miles away.
This activity is the first one in this city and it had a great influence on the
orientation of the new program. Despite the costs involved, PrAPE chose to invest
money because of the environmental issues at stake. Because of the expensive costs
envolved, we were thinking of finding the best way to reduce this cost. We finally,
realized that we should not have trash within Cotonou so we need not to collect and
transport them. This problem led us to seriously watch the composition of garbage.
We then, understood how high the amount of sand was and some possibilities to
recycle plastic. We tried using the organic matter in Cotonou for gardens and
decided to develop a plastic-recycling program after seeing what was done in
Germany, Holland, Egypt, and West Africa. At the same time, the community was
educating about reducing the among of sand in the waste and separating the
different components of garbage at home.

This idea inspired us to establish a program in Kandi, in the northern part of Benin, a system
that costs less money for cities. The first challenge for our activities in the city is to find
an efficient way to develop a technology which has to be within the budget and
environmentally friendly. In Kandi, the technology consisted of sorting all the waste in a
place close to the city. Only the inorganic matter was sent to the landfill. As a result only
20% of the garbage produced by people was collected and transported to the landfill. This
technology worked out because of the availability of the land in this place that is located
500 miles away from Cotonou. All the inorganic matter was packaged until we could recycle
them skillfully or dispose of the matter in a landfill.
For six years, the city of Cotonou supported the costs of transportation from the city to
our sorting center.

6. The treatment

It consists of sorting manually through the waste and depositing components to an

appropriate place. The highest amount of garbage is the organic matter, which is used to
make compost in aerobic conditions. The other components like glass, iron, other kinds of
metal, batteries, plastic, stones, and cardboard were packaged over the site and will be
brought to the landfill of the city. At the beginning of the project, the waste was burned at
a hospital in an arsenal incinerator extended by the health minister. After one year, we
changed the system because it isn’t good to drive dangerous waste over many miles and it
was expensive. As a result, we made a contract with the national medical center that has an
appropriate incinerator. There we trained people who sorted different components in the
hospital in different containers.

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 Different Components of solid household trash at Cotonou
Biodegradables Matters 52,13%
Sand and debris 31,65%
Plastics 7,26%
Papers / Cardboard 3,14%
Metal scraps 1,56%
Scraps of fabric 1,14%
Glasses 1,6%
shoes / Leathers 0,22%
Bones and Shells 0,37%
Batteries 0,15%
Other Waste 0,78%

7. Scaling up the program of PRAPE.

This part is the most important focus during the workshop. Regarding PRAPE there are two
kinds of scaling. The first is the flourishing of the experience by developing new activities
that make it stronger, more interesting and integrated. The second aspect is the duplication
in a new areas.
This experience which started in 1993 by waste collection in 8 neighborhoods in Ste Rita
area in Cotonou has been duplicated and now the program has been working in the whole
country in different domains.

a- Regarding sanitation and environmental protection.

The waste management program has touched Twelve cities. This programs consists of:
The waste collection from door to door. It started in eight neighborhoods in
Cotonou and now has been duplicated in new areas : 7 neighborhoods in the same
city, 7 in Porto-novo (30km from Cotonou), 3 in Parakou (400km), 7 in Kandi (600Km
from Cotonou), 3 in Come (6okm), 3 in Aplahoue (160km).
Moreover PRAPE (acronyms are always in all caps in US English) has helped other
organizations to start the same program by designing the proposal or living some
equipments ( 20 NGO in Benin, 2 in Togo, 1 in Congo).
The extension of hospital waste collection to thirty other health centers.
Sorting of the waste of the whole city of Cotonou (1000.000 people) and the
beginning of new aspect of this work, which is the mechanization of the sorting
process.
Plastic recycling to make electrical conduit at the AGRIPLAS center, a small factory
that recycles three tons of plastic waste a month.
Creation of Network of recovers .
“Building the capacity of welders to be able to make metal garbage cans out of junk
cars in Cotonou.

PrAPE has organized a waste management study in twelve municipalities in Benin and
advised these municipalities in how to develop activities in regards to waste
management.

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 In Kandi, the whole system is working from the collection, the sorting and the
sorting center. In fact Kandi is the only city in Benin which has an appropriate place
for waste management. Because of this approach only twenty percent is sent to the
landfill as final deposit.
House sorting waste with one thousand people in the city.

a- promoting income generating activities.

These new activities were the result of the waste collection program that motivated our
NGO to focus on the community needs and figure out a way to reduce poverty. This program
started in a small office with an initial infusion of capital of less than three thousand USD
in 1996.The current total loans now is more than one million USD each year and more than
three thousand beneficiaries have participated to the program which is functioning without
subsidies. This program now operates in the three main cities in Benin. These small loans
have helped many young people to start a small business.

promoting local development. PrAPE has excelled in community organization. Out of

this experience other associations has emerged that assists communities to
organize themselves in order to meet their own development goals. Because of its
success PrAPE was chosen to assist the government-coordinating agency (SERHAU)
in the community participation component of this project. This program, set up by
the government and the World Bank, had taken PrAPE to work with the three
largest cities of Benin. For three years PrAPE has been helping to:
Establish neighborhood association committees,
Develop the design of each ,
Build capacity in regards to the managerial skills of the committees,
Assist in community infrastructure building (schools, health centers, youth centers,
markets, and public latrines) and prepare the community to manage them
effectively.
Build the equipment for water supply in the community.

b- Scaling strategy.

At the beginning there was no strategy for replication of our experience/model

elsewhere, however it’s possible to write about it.
spreading in the surrounding area: Because the experience (specifically garbage
collection) proved how it’s a good source of revenue, many people launched the same
activities.
Helpful experience for student's interns and workers who have left DCAM. More
than five students every year came to PrAPE to do their research. This helps many
people to hear about the program. Some of them, after graduating, returned to
their own communities and started the same activities. Some workers, for different
reasons, left the project and founded their own program. Moreover twenty interns
came to stay more than two weeks to be trained about how to found the waste
collection.

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 Favorable context: Many international agencies, and the government, were
committed to develop a simple technology to clean up the city. So they encouraged
the creation of many waste collecting projects.
Easy to create: With just 230 euros two young people can make ends met.
Awareness of the population in regards to the sanitation problem in the cities:
In fact the strategy consisted of cooperation with universities, research centers
workshop, consulting, studies, network.

8 - Lessons learned from the experience can be

summed up as followed

All experiences built and supported by the population are sustainable and essential in the
community. Our experience teaches us that research of the community into how it might
effectively help build and support the model with its resources, is crucial to an NGO’s
success. We can cite, for example, our community bank which is self-financing without
outside subsidies as a successful model resulting from such research.

The second lesson learned is that projects that are well-done and transparent to the
community often succeed; the community is ready to participate in projects where they see
the direct benefits, and understand the internal organization.

We also believe that the best way to support costs of garbage collection in a developing
country is through the recovery and recycling of certain waste materials, e.g. paper and
plastic.
Lastly, in developing countries, the most important lesson to be learned is that both the
interests of the community and those of the state need to be taken into account, and the
two groups must work in collaboration with one another.

Our organization believes that both the community and state must be given responsibility in
development projects, and one of Pr.A.P.E.’s goals is to clarify the capabilities of the
community as well as the state. For example, door-to-door garbage collection can be
completely supported by the local population without aid from the state. However, the
state is then needed to aid in the transport and treatment of waste in the municipality.

CONCLUSION

PrAPE’s experience in Benin is unique in West Africa.

It solves many problems and influences the waste management, the income generating
domain, local development and cooperation between pubic and private administration.
Throughout this experience, DCAM contributes to poverty reduction in Benin.
Because it has proved to a success, this experience has been so rapidly scaled in many
places than expected. Its challenge now is to share all the shill built and help the
authorities to choose the best way for public health program.

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10
Award document in 2002

1a- PROGRAMME ASSAINISSEMENT ET PROTECTION DE L’ENVIRONNEMENT

(Pr.A.P.E.)

1b- Cotonou

2- Pr.A.P.E.
03 BP 4270
Cotonou, Benin
West Africa
TEL : 229 32 11 29
FAX : 229 32 75 49
E-mail : bethesda@intnet.bj

3- Contact Person: Mr. Raphaël Edou

4- Type of Organization: Non-governmental organization

5- Organization proposing the best practice: PDM (PROGRAMME DE DEVELOPPEMENT

MUNICIPAL)
01 BP 3445 Cotonou, Bénin, West Africa
TEL : 229 30 05 60
FAX : 229 30 19 76
E-mail : pdm@intnet.bj
Contact Person: Mr. Mbassi Elong
Type of Organization: International Agency

6- Partners:

• Caisse Française de Développement (Fonds Spécial pour la Dévaluation)

S/C Ambassade de France
TEL.: 229 30 02 25 / 30 02 26
FAX : 229 30 15 47 / 30 35 19
Contact Person: Head of Mission
Type of Organization: French Government

• CUC (CIRCONSCRIPTION URBAINE DE COTONOU)

03 BP 1777 Cotonou, Bénin,
TEL : 229 32 07 40 / 32 13 59
FAX : 229 32 40 44
Contact Person: Mr.Jérôme Dandjinou
Type of Organization: Municipality

• EED (Evangelische Entwicklungsdienst V.e.)

Ulrich-Von-Hassell-Str.76 D-53123 Bonn, Germany

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 TEL : 49-(0)228/81 01-0
FAX : 49-(0)228/81 01-160
E-mail :eze@eze.org / Udo_Bertrand/Abteilung1/eed/de%EED@eed.de
Contact Person: Mr. Karl-Michaël Kronenberg
Type of Organization: International Financing NGO

• MAIRIE DE SAINTE-RITA
03 BP 4270 Cotonou, Bénin, West Africa
TEL: 229 32 13 14
FAX: 229 32 75 49
Contact Person: Mr. AHOYO Albéric
Type of Organization: Commune

• MEHU (Ministère de l’Environnement de l’Habitat et de l’Urbanisme)

08 BP 32, Cotonou, Benin, West Africa,
TEL : 229 30 05 60
FAX : 229 30 13 65
E-mail : mehu@intnet.bj
Contact Person: Minister of the Environment
Type of Organization: Ministry

• ODASR (ORGANISATION POUR LE DE DEVELOPPEMENT DE

L’ARRONDISSEMENT DE SAINTE-RITA)
C/O Pr.A.P.E. 03 BP 4270 Cotonou, Bénin West Africa
TEL. 229 32 11 29
FAX 229 32 75 49
Contact Person: Mr. Jean-Louis Akakpo
Type of Organization: Grass-roots Organization

• SERHAU-SA (Société d'Etude Régionale pour l'Habitat et l'Urbanisme)

BP 2338 Cotonou, Bénin,
Tél. 229 30 02 09
Fax. 229 30 06 26
E-mail : serhau@syfed.bj.refer.org
Contact Person: Mr. Bachir Oloude
Type of Organization: Private Company

• SMB (SERVICE MENNONITE AU BENIN)

01 BP2624 Cotonou, Bénin, West Africa,
TEL : 229 32 48 03
E-mail : freyoder@firstnet.bj
Contact Person: Mr. Bruce Yoder
Type of Organization: Missionary Agency for Development

7- Type of Partner Support

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Caisse Française de Développement
(Fonds Spécial pour la Dévaluation)
CUC (Circonscription Urbaine de Cotonou)
EED (Evangelische Entwicklungsdienst V.e.)
Mairie de Sainte-Rita
MEHU (Ministère de l’Environnement, de l’Habitat et de
l’Urbanisme)
ODASR (Organisation pour le développement de
l'Arrondissement de Sainte-Rita)
SERHAU-SA (Société d'Etude Régionale pour l'Habitat
et l'Urbanisme)
SMB (Service Mennonite au Bénin)
Financial Support
Financial and Technical Support
Financial Support
Community Support
Material, Job Training and Political Support
Support in helping the local population to organize
themselves
Technical Support in compliance with the financial
contract of the World Bank
Financial and Technical Support

8- Financial Profile

Year TOTAL Pr.A.P.E. EED SMB DUTCH

COLLABORATION
2001 $ 350,860 76.63 % 19.72 % - 3.65 %
2000 $ 229,262 54.87 % 45.13 % - -
1999 $ 116,807 40.46 % 59.54 % - -
1998 $ 104,668 22.83 % 77.17 % - -
1997 $ 85,200 31.36 % 64.84 % 3.80 % -

1 $ US = 720 F CFA.

9- Categories of the Best Practice:

Poverty Eradication
Environmental Management
Production and Consumption Patterns

10- Level of Activity: Neighborhood

11- Eco-system: Coastal

12- SUMMARY

Pr.A.P.E. helps the Sainte Rita community manage the waste it produces. It trains and
employs youth to collect the waste from a total of 2,700 voluntary subscribers (households,
organizations), benefiting 80% of the 40,000 total community population. Subscribers pay
monthly fees for garbage collection of which 95% are recoverable. Recyclable plastic and
paper are collected by women and sold for reprocessing; organic material is recycled into
compost for the initiative’s farm operations. Currently, garbage collection activities
generate US$ 140,000 per year; professional consulting fees by Pr.A.P.E.’s administrators
generate US$ 125,000. An outgrowth of this project has been the creation of a community
bank for which the net worth is approximately US$ 1,400,000. This credit grant program
was created on the basis of local savings including contributions from over 1500 women, and

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functions without outside subsidies. It has granted credits of more than US$ 550,000 to
women, youth and other garbage collection associations in Cotonou.

Pr.A.P.E. employs 200 people today, including 33 youth and 85 women in the areas of waste
management, recycling and farm operations. The transfer of this initiative to other locales
has also indirectly created numerous job opportunities. In addition, at least 90 young men
and women have found opportunities for apprenticeships in various activities of the
organization. Pr.A.P.E. receives up to 200 visitors a year including students from
educational institutions and other national and international organizations. More than 100
publications or broadcasts have been produced for seminars organized by the Ministry of
the Environment, the municipality and international NGO’s.

13- Key Dates

September 6, 1993- First meeting with the community of Sainte-Rita

August 17, 1994- Financial Assistance from the French Mission
January 17, 1995- Launching of the project by the Minister of the Environment
October 1, 1999- Transfer of garbage collection responsibility to the economic interest groups
August 13, 2000- Signing of contract with the city of Cotonou for garbage sorting and
recycling

14- Narrative

SITUATION BEFORE THE INITIATIVE BEGAN

ESTABLISHMENT OF PRIORITIES

Early on, initiative leaders met with many groups including the mayor, neighborhood leaders,
health-workers, and governmental advisors to discuss priorities of the enterprise.
Participating in these discussions were many women from Sainte Rita who helped identify
and prioritize community problems.

The most obvious need was for a garbage collection system, and to convince the general
population of its value. Other priorities of the initiative included patching roads with earth
which had previously been filled with garbage, and reducing 30 dumpsites to five.

Discussions led to a signed contract between Pr.A.P.E. and community members which
defined the role of each party.

FORMULATION OF OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES

Principal objectives consisted of ending inappropriate discarding of trash, putting

responsibility for covering garbage collection costs on the population, elimination of garbage
using ecologically sound technology, promotion of employment for youth and women, and

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organization of a local committee that would take responsibility for this project after five
years.

Approaches used to attain these objectives included training of strategic community groups,
putting into place of sustainable mechanisms for waste management, and organization of
neighborhood committee for development. These objectives and strategies were elaborated
on with neighborhood representatives during the initial 15-month preparation period;
technical aspects were further developed by Pr.A.P.E.

MOBILIZATION OF RESOURCES

During the preparation of this project, GTZ-MEHU (Ministry of the Environment in

collaboration with GTZ, a German NGO) informed Bethesda Health Center about special
funds for development offered by France to ease the effects of the 1994 devaluation of
the FCFA.

In seeking these funds, the directors of Bethesda Health Center presented the project to
the national committee for the approval of FSD (Fonds Special de Développement). Their
presentation resulted in a grant being given to the initiative for US$ 120,000. This grant,
along with start-up funds from Bethesda, allowed the project to move forward. On-going
mobilization of funds is achieved by collecting fees from the participating population for
the collection of their garbage.

Human resources include women who have played an important role in decision-making from
the formulation of objectives to the debut and follow-through of all aspects of Pr.A.P.E.
Among the leaders of the initiative are thirteen female social workers/administrators, and
six women in top administrative positions who play important roles in ongoing planning and
decision-making in the project.

PROCESS

Before Pr.A.P.E. began, household and biomedical waste mixed with human excreta was
buried in yards around houses, dumped in the streets, gutters, the lagoon (where the water
table is approximately 2.5 meters), etc. These practices were due to the lack of organized
garbage collection. Another problem was the absence of a local authority leader in the
urban community. These problems were addressed through working with various groups of
people from the community, including women, youth, leaders from schools, markets, and
religious groups. The second problem was that of irregular payment for services rendered.
This was addressed by placing plaques on households for identification. If a household no
longer paid the subscription fees, the plaque was removed. A third problem faced by
Pr.A.P.E. was the disinterest of community members in garbage collection, however, through
informative conversations and negotiations with various groups of people, a successful
collaboration was established.

A problem encountered at the site for sorting recyclables was plastic waste which occupied
a large area of space. However, a recently constructed recycling center now handles these

15
materials. Because the community is made up of many different neighborhoods, an inherent
problem is that agreements are not always easily reached. Thus, a committee which fairly
represents the whole population was chosen to aid in decision-making processes. Problems
that remain to be addressed include accumulation of metal, batteries, and glass.

Pr.A.P.E. uses a participatory approach involving the local community in decision-making

processes. The initiative organizes seminars and training meetings to aid in the process of
local development. At Pr.A.P.E.'s seminars, women consultants are often employed to give
input on specific topics and to serve as teachers.

The credit grant initiative has resulted in training sessions on business management for 226
women who have received credit from the community bank. Specific training sessions for 20
women restaurant managers have also provided participants with a framework for success in
their entrepreneurial endeavors.

Through monthly community meetings, a strategic plan was developed which designated
responsibilities of each group. In addition to the development committee, a technical
advisory committee is in charge of following the activities of the initiative in their
respective communities. Both of these committees are composed entirely of community
members. Monthly meetings continue for evaluation of the project. The fees paid by
subscribers have also enabled hiring a permanent secretary to follow-up on the activities of
the collectors, problems of the community, and to aid in implementing decisions made at the
community meetings.

RESULTS ACHIEVED

Pr.A.P.E. is known throughout Benin today for its work in recycling of waste. Pr.A.P.E.
organizes women to help them in the collection of recyclable materials (bottles, plastics,
etc.), which they are able to resell and earn up to US$ 12 per day per person. A food
preparation business initiated by Pr.A.P.E. produces a daily income of US$ 40 for each
woman involved.

Measurable results include:

After 5 years, 80% of the population of Sainte Rita subscribes to the garbage
collection system.
After 5 years there is a 95 % fee recovery rate.
The door-to-door garbage collection system using non-polluting, local technology is
100% self-financing.
Over 200 permanent jobs have been created (of which 85 belong to women).
A community bank with a net worth of approximately US$ 1,400,000 is in operation.

Other important results include:

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 Recycling of plastic and paper materials is in place using an electrical grinding
machine and agglomerator to refrain from the production of unnecessary gases.
The city of Cotonou takes responsibility for transportation of waste to the final
destination sites, which are in compliance with environmental standards.
Cooperation of the local population to sort recyclable and non-recyclable materials
has been accomplished.
Beninese Center for Sustainable Development selected Pr.A.P.E. to participate in a
program with them to fight air pollution in Cotonou. The Ministry of the
Environment also selected Pr.A.P.E. as a role model for others in the area of
reducing toxins, including those produced by the exhaust fumes of vehicles.

SUSTAINABILITY

Pr.A.P.E. developed in 1995 on a very small scale, and has since become a structure of
support and assistance to cities, governmental ministries, other NGOs, and acts as an
agency for community development. The initiative is sustainable because not only it is
entirely self-financing which allows for some resources to be used in other aspects of
development. The combination of community and city resources ensures that the initiative
need never go out of existence for lack of funds. Pr.A.P.E. is available to all community
members at every economic level. A current base fee of US$ 1.40 is charged per month for
the collection of waste, but depending on the amount and type of waste, other subscribers
pay amounts of US$ 2.10, 4.20, and 7.00. Employing youth, and both men and women of
various ages ensures a sustainable work force for the initiative.

This endeavor is also sustainable due to its success at educating the population (the
producers of waste) about the importance of garbage collection for which the community
pays, and also by developing a technology for recycling plastic materials, cardboard boxes,
and used motor oil. The products (such as plastic granules) obtained from recycling permit
for consumption of less than half of the raw materials which would be used without this
initiative. The briquettes which are produced from recycled paper and sawdust are also a
protection from deforestation. To date, around four tons of briquettes have been produced.
At the final dumping site, the garbage is received on an impermeable platform which allows
for the collection and biological treatment of run-off water using aquatic plants. The
isolation of batteries after sorting and composting is also a means of protecting the water
table. All of these activities contribute to the sustainability of the environment.

TRANSFERABILITY

Today Pr.A.P.E has become a program of reference in Cotonou and in neighboring countries
for its successful experience in the collection of waste in the urban community. On average,
the initiative receives ten interns per year who come from other NGOs working in waste
management, or are students at the end of their studies. We can cite NGOs such as
Programme Bénin Propre, Association de Volontaires Togolais pour le Développement, and
Equinox Ville Propre who have sent interns to Pr.A.P.E.

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The principles from this initiative have been integrated into plans for the management of
waste in other cities. For example, African Development Foundation, Dutch Development
Service, and Care International, requested that Pr.A.P.E. complete a study on how to
properly manage waste collection projects and how best to reduce the negative impacts in
such projects. To help others reproduce our experience, we give consultations on how to
avoid transporting waste an unreasonable distance and the importance of sorting and
keeping recyclable material near its source. We further advise that all precautions should
be taken to avoid the collection of “mixed” garbage; separation of waste must be done at
the source. Because of the success of our experience, parts of our program have been
transferred to other localities, an example of which is Kandi, a city in northern Bénin.

Some ideas generated through this initiative have now been transferred to legal regulations
(presidential decrees) for the environmental management of waste in Bénin.

Pr.A.P.E. has prepared a written description of its history for the World Environment
Report (Rapport Mondial sur l’Environnement), and in 2001 PNUD (Programme Nations Unis
de Développement) identified Pr.A.P.E. as an encouraging leader in waste management.
Pr.A.P.E.’s programs have generated enthusiasm outside of the local community. sThis
attention suggests that Pr.A.P.E.’s initiatives warrant further exposure, and may offer
valuable ideas to other communities.

REFERENCES:

Lancement Officiel du Rapport sur l’Etat de la Population Mondiale 2001:

Philippe Delanne. FPA/JNP-Lancement/1076. 31 Oct. 2001 FNUAP.

Environmental Improvements in Cotonou:

The Development Planning Unit. Implementing the Habitat Agenda in Search of Urban
Sustainability. 2001. 129.

Cérémonie de Remise de Prix du Concours du Quartier le Plus Propre de Cotonou:

Vincent Francis Kpohihoun. Actualité Nationale. 27 Dec. 1999.

Les Ordures Ménagères Enfin Récupérables:

Author. Jeune Afrique Economique. 3 June 1996. 216.

Lancement Officiel du Projet d’Assainissement et de Protection de l’Environnement

(Pr.A.P.E.):
Philippe N’Seck. Notre Cadre de Vie. Bulletin d’information trimestriel no. 4. MEHU. April
1995. 18.

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Cotonou, la ville d’accueil du programme PrAPE
Zone encerclée en rouge représente le territoire
de Ste Rita au sein de la ville de Cotonou où le
programme a été lancé. C’est également dans
cette zone que se trouve le siège social de l’ONG.
Cotonou, capitale économique, est une
des villes les plus peuplées du Bénin. Sa
population qui croît à un rythme effréné,
est estimée aujourd’hui à plus de 800 000
habitants. Elle connaît une pression
démographique les fortes du pays. Celle-ci
se traduit par une kyrielle de problèmes
aussi bien sur l’environnement que sur
l’homme. Au nombre de ceux-ci, on peut
citer la pollution de sources diverses, le
trafic urbain, le logement, la distribution et
l'épuration des eaux, la gestion des
déchets, la nature même du sol où la
nappe aquifère affleure presque le sol, l’étendue
des zones marécageuses qui fait plus de 30%
des 7006 ha que constitue la surface totale de la
ville, etc...
Projet de gestion Urbaine
Décentralisée – Composante C
Objectifs
L'ONG DCAM BETHESDA, assistante à l'Agence
d'Exécution dans le cadre de la composante C, est
chargée entre autres, de mobiliser les communautés
concernées dans les 5 quartiers des 3 villes, de les
aider à s'organiser en Comités de Développement de
Quartiers et à formuler leurs demandes sous la
forme de Plans de Développement de Quartiers
composés de plusieurs Projets de Quartier.
Activités
Ouverture et fonctionnement d’antennes de
DCAM dans chacun des quartiers du projet ;
Organisation et tenue régulière de réunions de
concertation dans chaque CU entre les CDQs,
les SAICs et l'Ong DCAM pour la coordination et
le suivi des activités ;
Organisation de Journées de Dialogue
Publiques (JDP) et mise en place des Comités
Provisoires (CP) ;
Mise en place des Comités de
Développement de Quartier – CDQs ;
Elaboration des plans de développement
des quartiers – PDQs ;
Organisation du ramassage des ordures
ménagère ;
Ouvertures de lignes de crédit par le
programme de micro finance de l’ONG DCAM ;
Mobilisation des parts locales .
Programme d’Eparge/Crédit à Base
Communautaire (PEBCo)
Objectifs
(i) Développer une solidarité communautaire entre
les populations d’une même localité à travers la
collecte de l’épargne pour le financement des
initiatives privées génératrices de revenus. (ii) Aider
par l’octroi de crédits les communautés à faire face
efficacement à leurs problèmes de santé, de
nutrition, d’hygiène du milieu ou d’assainissement.
Activité
Trois volets de crédits sont retenus :
Petit crédit : tranche 25.000 – 100.000 Fcfa à
une échéance de 7 mois au plus de
remboursement ;
Crédit moyen : tranche 100.000 – 500. 000 Fcfa
à une échéance de 14 mois au plus ;
Crédit substantiel : tranche 500.000 – 5.000.000
Fcfa à une échéance de 24 mois au plus.
19