What We Do

ÉnergieRich in partnership with Burkina Énergie Technologies Appropriées (BETA) advances opportunities for communities to establish durable renewable energy and technology access through local production of innovative appropriate technology.

Our Mission

We seek to spark a major transformation of the organization of economic production and innovation in underserved communities while inspiring global social consciousness for STEM innovators. Our initial pilot project in Burkina Faso introduces locally assembled solar products at a lower cost than imported manufactured goods. The production of economically viable and socio-cultural appropriate technology produced by local populations, provides economic, educational, technological and health stimulus. As our organization grows we will begin operations in underserved communities in the U.S.

“We must dare to invent the future”

— Thomas Sankara

Primary Goals

Introduce local small scale manufacturing of multiple solar powered appropriate technology products. Initial products: Locally assembled solar panels, solar powered poultry egg incubator, portable solar lamps

Develop solar powered appropriate technology to enhance agricultural production. Our partner organizations Burkina Energy and Appropriate Technology (BETA) and Center for Training and the Promotion of Improved Aviculture (CFPA) are leaders in solar access and agricultural training rural areas of Burkina Faso. We are working together to develop innovative solar products to enhance agricultural production

Inspire young socially conscious engineers, particularly underrepresented groups in STEM ÉnergieRich partnered with Stanford Society of Black Engineers (SBSE) to develop a prototype of the solar poultry incubator. In July 2017 student SBSE members traveled to Burkina Faso to test the prototype.

Address energy and food challenges in underserved communities in the U.S. There are many energy challenges and difficulties in accessing fresh organic poultry in the U.S. We envision use of our products in the U.S. to address our own domestic energy and food challenges.

Who We Are

Our Team

Co-Founder, Dena Montague, earned a PhD in Political Science from UCLA and a BA from Brown University. Prior to her doctoral studies she was a Research Associate at the World Policy Institute where she analyzed questions concerning the impact of extractive sector management on democracy, development and human rights in Africa. Her published articles can be found in magazines and journals including, The SAIS Review of International Affairs and Brown Journal of World Affairs. Dr. Montague has conducted research in several African countries including Nigeria, Niger, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso, as well as extensive research in Paris. She was a Postdoctoral Scholar at Duke University. She is currently a Research Associate at University of California, Santa Barbara with the Center for Black Studies Research.

Co-Founder, Boureima Kabre, has over twenty years of experience working in rural development in his home country, Burkina Faso. Raised in rural Burkina Faso, Mr. Kabre understands first hand the challenges faced by communities in rural area. Committed to implementing strategies for sustainable development, Mr. Kabre founded Burkina Énergie & Technologies Appropriées. He is well known in his community of Kouittenga Province and throughout Burkina Faso for his tireless work empowering rural communities through the use of renewable energy. He established the first solar powered internet cafe in his region, which employs and trains community members. Mr. Kabre has written many detailed socio-economic studies on the use of energy and potential of energy access in rural areas of Burkina Faso. These studies have been used to support the work of international development agencies, including USAID. Mr. Kabre was honored by Powéo of France with their 2009 Grand Prize, for his important work expanding solar access. He holds a Masters 2 in Social Sciences and Economics from Institut Catholique de Paris.

Director, Diaspora STEAM Initiative, Aimé N'Tsiangana, is an artist, poet and political activist from Paris. He studied Sociology and Linguistics at the Sorbonne. He works as a journalist at Radio FPP for a program focused on colonialism and its aftermath. Aimé directs poetry workshops for young people from difficult neighborhoods in the Paris area. His poetry is influenced by the artistic traditions of Congo; his Guadeloupean mentor, Guy Konket, initiator of the gwo ka movement (percussions marking strong African musical traditions in the Caribbean - influencing liberation movements in Guadeloupe during the 1970s); and classical French writers, François Villon, Verlaine and Baudelaire.

Projects

A brief description of the prototypes we are developing for local manufacture.

Solar Powered poultry Egg Incubator

A team of Stanford Engineers is developing a solar incubator to introduce a modern system of poultry farming that integrates renewable energy, local innovation, local manufacturing and lowers cost of poultry production.

Locally Assembled Solar Panels

An influx of cheap, defective solar panels have been introduced to the market. In response, locally assembled solar panels will be durable, directly fit the needs of communities and accurately respond to energy needs.