Dadaab refugee camp: need for sustainability has birthed ecopreneurs

  • The Dadaab complex homes a large number of Somali refugees for over last 25 years
  • Green solutions require empowering refugees in generating sustainable alternatives.
  • Recycling has transformed the camp into a green environment, an eco-entrepreneur community.

Refugee settlements, and their standards of living in temporary camps have triggered international debate. Most of them flee wars, conflicts, violence and persecution in their countries of origin. They risk their lives and take chances in pursuit of a secure place to live in with decent living conditions. However, the need for a friendly environment and decent living conditions at the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya has resulted in the emergence of eco-entrepreneurs practicing sustainability, and protection of the environment.

The Dadaab complex has served as a home for a large number of Somali refugees over the last 25 years is ranked the largest refugee camp in the world according to Médecins Sans Frontières. It comprises five different camps: Dagahaley, Hagadera, Ifo, Ifo II, and Kambioos.

It also hosts nearly half a million Somali refugees who fled the 1991 collapse of the Somali government and subsequent civil war and humanitarian crisis. The Dadaab refugee complex was designed to accommodate a maximum of 160,000 refugees. According to UNHCR data, the registered Somali refugee population is approximately 330,000, which has transformed the camp into a vast, virtual city of the Eastern African region.

How then does the model on eco-entrepreneurship and environmental sustainability work in the Dadaab camp?

Solar power for water provision

The Dadaab refugee settlement is a good example of developing eco-entrepreneurship and green business in Africa. About 16,000 refugees are now provided with potable water promoting personal hygiene and prevents diarrhoea and respiratory diseases.  A solar-powered water distribution system was first successfully piloted by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in 2013 with funding from the European Commission. The camp receives a daily average of 28,0000 litres of water.  This initiative is not only innovative, but also environmentally and economically friendly. African nations must invest in economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable energy within refugee camps as a cost-effective and green business-oriented solution.

Need for green energy for camp administration

Generators and solar power are the main sources of electricity in the camp and are rarely hybrid systems. However, within a green business environment, priority should be given to solar power which improves access to a cost-effective supply of clean and sustainable energy. According to a research paper by Chatham House, the Dadaab complex has 99 generators managed by the UNHCR and powered with only 10 kVA to 400-455 kVA, which may cause under-loading and asset inefficiency. The UNHCR consumes 200,000 liters of diesel per month for use in generators, at a cost of USD $0.94 per liter.

This is equivalent to a total of USD $2,256,000 per year. Young African entrepreneurs with business acumen have a chance to identify sustainable investment opportunities within refugee camps and ensure a more efficient and eco-friendly provision of energy to Dadaab camp operations.

Leverage the capacities of refugees and displaced people

Bottom-up innovation for green business solutions can be a very good response to the humanitarian crisis and displacement of African people. Energy management programs that directly target refugees are not as efficient as partnering with refugees and leveraging their skills and competencies in the local community. The key challenge here for green solutions is the empowerment and involvement of refugees in generating alternatives and maintaining sustainable expertise for the long-run.


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Technical services, knowledge, research and technology can be delivered to the local community, transforming refugees into partners and acknowledging them as more than recipients of humanitarian support and help. A successful capacity-building initiative launched by the UNCHR Innovation and UNHCR Energy & Environment Unit in Dollo Ado, Ethiopia assisted refugees with designing and producing healthy, fuel-efficient cook stoves to reduce firewood consumption. In addition, suitable training and facilitation were provided to support refugees in producing solar bulbs using locally available materials.

Innovation and waste products

Can a person simultaneously be a refugee and an entrepreneur? Yes, they can. A bright example is the local community in the Hagadera refugee camp, where refugees are engaged in recycling plastic waste. Waste materials are compiled, transferred into open space, shredded and then packed and sold as raw materials to industrial manufacturers. This successful project was initially implemented in 2012 and managed by the Refugee Recycling Income Group (RRIG). It transformed a refugee camp into both a green environment and an eco-entrepreneur local community. Proven to be an innovative way of ameliorating refugees’ living conditions, recycling waste generates income covering daily expenses, reduces plastic waste in Hagadera and enhances people’s hygiene and quality of life.

Above initiatives show that refugees hold the potential for thriving eco-entrepreneurship and environmental sustainability. The new entrepreneurs can facilitate innovative and creative ways to deliver sustainable and cleaner energy, alleviate energy poverty, and provide multiple benefits to displaced people and their host countries.

References

Adow, M. (2016, June). Dadaab camp refugees offered cash to return to Somalia, Retrieved from http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/dadaab-camp-refugees-forced-return-somalia-160610093959604.html

De Vos, M. (2015, November). What we can learn from the Somali refugee crisis, Retrieved from https://www.devex.com/news/what-we-can-learn-from-the-somali-refugee-crisis-87314

Hujale, M. (2015, September). The best way to achieve sustainable energy for refugees is to make them partners and not just recipients, Retrieved from http://innovation.unhcr.org/the-best-way-to-achieve-sustainable-energy-for-refugees-is-to-make-them-partners-and-not-just-recipients/

ICMC Europe (2013), Welcome to Europe! A comprehensive guide to resettlement, Retrieved from http://www.resettlement.eu/page/somali-refugees-kenya-ethiopia

Kingsley, P.  (2016, May). Kenya tells UK to resettle Somali refugees living in Dadaab, Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/global-d

Lahn, G. and Grafham, O. (2015). Heat, Light and Power for Refugees: Saving Lives, Reducing Costs, Chatham House Report, London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, Retrieved from

https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/chathamhouse/publications/research/20151117

Mukoya/Reuters (2011) Kenya: Reverse Move to Close Refugee Camp, No Forced Returns of Refugees [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/03/27/kenya-reverse-move-close-refugee-camp

Norwegian Refugee Council, (2015, January). Innovation in Dadaab, Retrieved from https://www.nrc.no/news/2015/january/innovation-in-dadaab/

Refugees in the Horn of Africa: Somali Displacement Crisis. Retrieved from http://data.unhcr.org/horn-of-africa/region.php?id=3&country=110

Okello, P.  (2015, November).  More water from solar power in Dadaab, Kenya, Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/echo/blog/more-water-solar-power-dadaab-kenya_en

Okello, S. (2016). The Energy Situation in the Dadaab Refugee Camps, Kenya, Research Paper, London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, Retrieved from https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/chathamhouse/publication

UNHCR, Green projects bear fruit for Kenyan refugee camp. (8 January 2003). Retrieved from http://www.unhcr.org/news/latest/2003/1/3e1c38934/feature-green-

eleanavel2011

Eleana is an experienced Business Manager with a demonstrated working history and knowledge in the NGO/ NPO sector and remarkable research experience in EU agencies and institutes. She has a passion for community development work, project management and social programs’ evaluation targeting under-resourced populations with main aim their empowerment. She is skilled in efficiently implementing and monitoring social development projects in Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa, conducting research and data analysis, project reporting and policy writing.She has gained hands-on experience in project and partnerships management, team management, charity management as well finance and operations. A series of skills have been mastered: project management, leadership, problem-solving, organization, communication, teamwork, business-mind, customer service and multiculturalism. An avid professional with a flexible, easy-going personality who works well under pressure, believes in sustainable development, targets vulnerable communities, and sets SMART objectives to make a positive and sustainable change.

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