Green Lagoon
A nature reserve full of rattling petrol engines
The Somone lagoon is Senegal’s oldest nature reserve. Some 45 pirogues cross it: they ferry people between Guereo and Somone, take guests to the beach restaurants on the north shore and bring visitors into the mangroves to watch birds. They are powered by old petrol and diesel outboard motors.
29 July 2026The lagoon’s mangroves at low tide. A nursery for fish and a wintering ground for migratory birds.
What these engines do
They are noisy, in an area whose value lies to a large extent in its quiet. They leak oil and fuel from faulty lines into shallow, enclosed water, a nursery for fish, where shellfish grow and birds spend the winter. And they emit exhaust fumes.
For the people who run the boats there is another problem: fuel is expensive. The running costs eat up their earnings.
29 July 2026The “Le Thiokam” on the Somone lagoon. The outboard at the stern is the problem: noise, exhaust and oil in Senegal’s oldest nature reserve.
Why the first boat is this boat
It belongs to the lagoon’s women oyster and shellfish gatherers, a traditional association of currently 45 women. They work in harsh conditions: in chest-deep water, diving for mussels and oysters, which they also farm themselves. They and their families live from this, and their income varies with the season.
The boat was provided to them by Senegal’s Ministry of Women and Health. It brings them and their catch back from their workplaces on the far shore to the village.
Once it runs on electricity, the expensive fuel for the old petrol engine is no longer needed, and the women’s income rises significantly. That is not a side effect, it is the point. And it is the proof we need for everything that follows: a boat that runs is more convincing than a concept paper.
Where we stand
A 1.5 kilowatt motor is enough for the women’s boat. With a battery it costs €2,650. The association has already put aside a good part of this from its own funds.
The battery can be charged at a small solar charging station that already exists. So with this one motor, the boat runs under its own power.
Step by step
Step 1
€2,650
The first boat
Motor and battery for the women’s boat. A further €1,350 adds a second, swappable battery and an improved solar station, so the boat can run while the other battery charges.
Step 2
€20,000
Four more boats, two charging stations
Four motors with swappable batteries and a solar charging station on each bank of the Somone. We are applying to the German Embassy in Dakar for micro-project funding of up to €12,000. That would leave €8,000 to raise, and five boats would run on solar power.
Step 3 onwards
€3,500
Every further boat
By then the charging stations are in place. All that remains is motor and batteries.
Who pays for what
The boat operators are organised collectively in this project and contribute €100 per boat towards the costs.
For each charge of a boat battery they pay the equivalent of around €3. This income pays for new batteries when the old ones are worn out after five to six years. The exact price is still being set and will be adjusted once there is enough experience.
Mobile phones can also be charged at the stations, again for a small fee.
Mobile phones charging at the socket by the well. The solar charging stations will charge phones too.
What comes after
The first boat is one of around 45. Converting them all will take years. That is why we are going boat by boat, and why the first one does not mean the job is done.
We are submitting the application to the embassy together with NCD. And our vision goes beyond the Somone: what works here should be transferable to other regions, especially to protected mangrove areas.
7 August 2026We discussed converting the boats with the commander of the marine protected area.
Why this is a European concern too
Many of the birds that winter in the lagoon spend the summer with us in Europe. Among them are species on Germany’s Red List: the Eurasian curlew and the lapwing, which breed in the Münsterland, in the Heubachwiesen for example, and the flamingos of the Zwillbrocker Venn.
Restoring quiet, clean water and fresh air here is therefore not just for Senegal. The birds return in spring in better condition, and they are not lost to Europe’s ecosystems.
That is why we see this project as a pilot. What works on the Somone can be transferred to other protected areas, and there are some very important ones along this coast: the Djoudj National Park in the Senegal River delta to the north, and the Sine-Saloum delta to the south, just north of the Gambia.
23 January 2015Pelicans in the lagoon. Many of the birds that winter here breed in Europe in spring.
What a donation achieves here
- €2,650: one boat runs on electricity
- Motor and battery for one boat. The first is the women’s boat; it can be charged at the solar station that already exists.
- €1,350: swap battery and solar station
- A second battery, so the boat can run while the first one charges, and an improved charging station.