The Story Behind

It all started with Augustin …

Armed with the trust of the men and women of his rural community in Diembering, Casamance, (Southern Senegal) and some personal resources, Augustin was seeking additional funds to fence in the 32 hectare forest (64 football fields!) of his village, to protect it from real estate predation and threats such as poaching or untimely woodcutting.

Did we want to help Augustin? Definitely! But how could we do so effectively and sustainably? That is when we imagined Ecofund, a web platform that would not only present Augustin’s inspiring project and introduce his environment to the global audience, but also raise money online.

A few months after online publication, Augustin convinced 39 individual donors to contribute between 5 and 250 Euros. Moreover, encouraged by the Ecofund community, two corporates made significant donations. Thanks to this support, Augustin was able to order a professional fence. He has just completed a mission of birds’ observation with a team of ornithologists, who, for the first time in 32 years, have identified five bird-species particular to this forest and for now preserved.

Augustin would no doubt tell you that he is not doing anything special. But we see him working every day for the protection of the environment. To us, he is one of the modern day heroes, as is Sidi, keen to protect migratory birds in his native “Banc d’Arguin” in Mauritania or Jose and Tommy, a father and son devoted to the preservation of endangered species of turtles and birds in Cape Verde. This is why we call them “Champions”.

There are so many other Champions, men and women, in Africa, and everywhere else, who deserve to be introduced to the world and encouraged !