The Senegalese village of Guélack is located 19 km southeast of Saint-Louis and north of Dakar, in the commune of Gandon.

The drought of the 1970s severely affected the population of the commune. The village of Guélack was gradually emptied of its inhabitants. The village recognizes that the main climatic risks in the area are irregular rainfall, excessive heat, and strong winds. In addition, it has been affected several times by food crises due to droughts or locust invasion.

The Guélack Integrated Development Project is an initiative that began in the 1980s and now covers 19 hectares, supporting the community in income diversification, energy self-sufficiency, agricultural entrepreneurship training, health and farmer mentoring. More specifically, it has three main dimensions:

- Economic dimension: The village has developed access to water through wells, intensive sheep and cattle rearing, construction of buildings and stables, cheese making, rice cultivation, creation of a micro-credit scheme.

- Social dimension: The initiative has created a kindergarten and a school with 700 pupils in 6 classes, an agricultural training center, a health center, a dyeing and sewing workshop for women, etc.

- Environmental dimension: The project has set up a rice farm in an arm of the river with catfish fed by a pigeon farm, more than 50 hectares have been planted to combat soil erosion, a solar electrification system supplies the village and its buildings, etc.

The initiative has enabled the education of children and the training of young people in the agriculture promoted by the farm. The women earn an income from the processing workshops, which has enabled them to set up a micro-credit bank and a health insurance scheme.

The farm project has created a strong resilience dynamic in an area destroyed by years of drought. The promotion of agroecology has led to a restoration of the vegetation cover and an improvement in the quality of the soil. The village does not use chemicals in its production and processing, thus preserving the environment as well as the health of the people and the soil.

This sheet is produced within the framework of the Avaclim project, which aims to create the necessary conditions for the deployment of agroecology in drylands. The international solidarity association CARI coordinates the Avaclim project while Environnement Développement Action pour la Protection Naturelle des Terroirs (ENDA Pronat) is in charge of its implementation in Senegal.