THE TAMESNA CENTER FOR NOMADIC LIFE
A model for sustaining nomadic herding in the north of Niger.
Cost of completion $647,500
Five year operation cost $400,000 ($80,000/year)
TOTAL $1,047,500
Niger's nomads are largely overlooked by humanitarian aid organizations, because they are hard to find and hard to help. The Nomad Foundation's unique TAMESNA Center for Nomadic Life, located on the annual migration route, will offer critical services to nomads without requiring they permanently settle down, lose their cultural traditions, and surrender their viable living as mobile herders. TAMESNA will offer medical, vocational, educational, agricultural and communication services at a convenient locale, accessible if and when the nomads choose to pitch their tents nearby. TAMESNA will be a hub, serving as the base of operations for the Nomad Foundation and centralizing services for the nomadic Wodaabe and Tuareg tribes. The TAMESNA prototype will serve as model that can be replicated on a smaller scale throughout northern Niger.
WATER Needed: $140,000 for borehole
The key to life in the Sahara is water. Men, women and children devote much of each day to drawing and hauling water for their families and for their herds. In the Ingall area, the Nomad Foundation has dug 28 manually operated, cement wells at a cost of about $10,000 each. But drawing water manually is an exhaustive ordeal. It can take 14 hours for a nomad to water his herds. The TAMESNA Center currently has one solar-powered well with storage tank that supports the current medical clinic and staff and visiting patients. This shallow well does not provide enough water for herds, agriculture and expansion of the center’s facilities. Accessing the plentiful water at a depth of 600’ is essential to support agricultural ventures, which could provide much needed improvement in nutrition for humans, animals and an alternate source of income. The garden and well will be operated on a co-operative basis and managed by a committee locally elected who will collect a small fee to pay for maintenance. The result will be more plentiful water, new jobs, agriculture, and opportunities for children, freed from hauling water, to attend school.
Cost of Borehole to 600’: $140,000
HEALTH
Needed: $17,000 for annual medical missions and operations
The TAMESNA Medical clinic opened in September 2009 serving a 50,000-square-mile area with no doctor. So far 2,500 patients have been seen. Construction and equipment were funded by the Nomad Foundation, Rotary Clubs, and the Great Escape Foundation. The clinic is staffed by a full-time nurse at an annual salary of $3,000 and by visiting medical professionals. Vitamins and some medicines have been donated. American physicians are asked to donate their time and pay their travel expenses. Each medical mission costs the foundation approximately $7,000 for medicine, salaries of local personnel, ground transportation and food. Patients are charged $1 per visit (and no charge for medication) to help defray costs. The clinic will rely on two medical missions yearly.
Two medical missions: $14,000 Nurse Salary: $3,000
SCHOOLS
Needed $75,400 for construction + annual operations $15,500
Schooling nomadic children is challenging because these herders are frequently moving in search of adequate pasture. Having supported eight schools in the Ingall region, the Nomad Foundation is proposing a new solution: a boarding school at TAMESNA. The school will be open to all nomads free of charge with an initial class of 45 children.
CONSTRUCTION: $75,400 Four Classrooms: $50,000 Dormitory: $10,000 Teacher residence: $12,400
ANNUAL OPERATION $15, 500 Three meals per day: $6000 Director/teacher salary: $2000 Second teacher salary: $1800
Cook salary: $700
Caretaker salary: $1,000
School materials: $1000
Blankets, mats and uniforms: $3000
FOOD
Needed: $60,000 for millet
The nomads' diet consists of millet and milk . Goats and camels provide milk, but millet must be purchased at distant markets. The Nomad Foundation has created 28 cereal banks in the Ingall region where millet is stored and sold to the nomadic population. It is purchased in large quantity just after harvest when the price is low and is then re-sold at a small profit throughout the year. This gives local access to food at a constant price, which is especially helpful during the dry season when pasture and milk is scarce and the market price of millet skyrockets. Each cereal bank is managed by representatives of the local community. The Nomad Foundation has received funding for a warehouse to store cereal and animal fodder at the TAMESNA Center. The Foundation is seeking $60,000 as a one time cost to stock the warehouse.
JOBS CREATION
Needed: $90,000 for company start up costs and microcredit
To promote peace in the region, jobs must be created for nomads and ex-rebels who recently surrendered after a 2 year fight for better services and greater opportunities for the nomadic community. One enterprise proposed by the Nomad Foundation would not only provide crucial services to the nomadic community but would also provide jobs. In addition a microcredit fund, administered at the center will provide opportunities for small enterprises focusing on women.
Solar energy company. Purchase supplies for a solar energy company to supply pumps for wells etc. and provide training to operate the equipment.
Supplies and training: $60,000
Microcredit bank Provide loans to create income-producing opportunities for nomads working with herds, food co-ops, crafts production and other areas.
Revolving loan fund: $30,000
GARDEN
Needed $17,500 for supplies +annual operations $1,500
A garden at TAMESNA is fenced and partially planted, but needs another well to supply enough water for irrigation. (see "water" above) The garden will provide better nutrition for humans and animals. Harvesting onions, peppers, tomatoes, henna, beans and moringa will create an income stream. The garden will serve as a model and training facility for nomads wishing to create their own gardens near wells and schools.
Drip Irrigation system and reservoir $15,000:
Seeds, tools and fertilizer: $2,500
Gardener’s salary $1,500
HERDS
Needed $70,000 for fodder and vaccines
Storing fodder for animals to eat during periods of drought is critical. The Nomad Foundation has built 18 fodder banks in northern Niger and has received funding for a central warehouse at TAMESNA. It will operate much like the cereal warehouse described above. The Foundation is seeking $60,000 as a one time cost to stock the warehouse.
Biannual vaccinations are essential for herd health. Vaccination corrals (already funded by Rotary Club) will provide an enclosure to facilitate this. The cost of vaccinating an animal in the bush is $1/ animal. This can be cut in half if animals are brought to a central facility at TAMESNA. An annual investment of $10,000 can vaccinate 20,000 animals. The herders will be charged the cost of the vaccine to replenish the supply.
Fodder Banks: $60,000
Vaccinations: $10,000
TRAINING AND COMMUNICATION
Needed $165,600 for construction, internet and solar system
A Visitor's Center will provide a place for meetings and housing of visiting experts in the area of health, literacy, agriculture, business management, hydrology, animal health, environmental protection, pasture management, microcredit and vocational training. It will also include a communication center with internet access and postings of activities by various NGOs, government entities and mining companies. A central database will be established to compile statistics on the nomadic population. The visitor's center will include a work-space and an area for boutiques showcasing the leather work, embroidery, jewelry and other crafts for sale by local artisans.
Cost of Construction: $105,600
Solar Electricity: $30,000
Internet equipment: $30,000
OPERATIONS
Needed: $29,000 for construction and transportation + annual operations $34,200
Vehicle -TOYOTA Hilux:$20,000
Director’s residence: $8,000
Garage, storage and maintenance yard: $10,000
Motorcycle for mobile personnel: $1,000
Vehicle operating costs & insurance: $7,000
Salaries for local personnel:
Tamesna director: $20,000
Offsite accountant: $6,000
Guardian: $1,200
TAMESNA CENTER is located in the Commune of Ingall, Niger
16* 28' 46.74 N 7* 12' 12.46" E