Benin/PDIEM: an exemplary partnership between Benin, Swiss Cooperation and SNV to transform communes through eco-construction
With decentralization in full swing since 2003, an innovative response to the lack of economic and commercial infrastructure in Benin's communes was launched in 2013: the construction of EMIs using local materials. An audacious gamble, supported by Swiss Cooperation and the Beninese government through the PDIEM, and which, more than a decade later, is revolutionizing the local construction landscape.
Despite the signing of Decree no. 2005-482 of August 4, 2005, requiring the use of at least 25% local materials in public buildings, its implementation remains largely timid. A paradoxical situation, given Benin's wealth of local materials such as raw earth, and their proven effectiveness in neighboring countries.
To overcome this inertia, Swiss development cooperation has committed to promoting eco-construction in 24 communes through the Programme de Développement des Infrastructures Économiques et Marchandes (PDIEM). The aim is to make the most of local resources, while stimulating local economies and encouraging the creation of sustainable jobs.
A structured skills transfer strategy
Aware of the lack of expertise in the field of building with local materials, the Swiss Cooperation has deployed a rigorous capacity-building plan. As early as phase 1 of the PDIEM, architects, engineers, craftsmen and technicians were trained in the production and installation of compressed earth bricks (C.E.B.) and rubble stone, with the support of trainers from Togo and Burkina Faso.
According to Baky Lafia Mora, deputy project manager for PDIEM phase 3, "in phase 1, the craftsmen had done well, but the architectural designs posed a problem. Hence the need to extend training to specifiers such as architects and engineers. "
In 2019, an intensive six-week session is being organized in Lomé in partnership with the École Africaine des Métiers de l'Architecture et de l'Urbanisme (EAMAU), the École Polytechnique d'Abomey-Calavi (EPAC), and Grenoble's CRATerre, a world reference in earth construction.
A total of 31 specifiers (engineers, architects, technicians) benefited from this training course combining theory and practice, followed by work placements with approved design offices. "The course was a real immersion experience. I was able to apply what I'd learnt to the design and supervision of EMI projects", says José Tossou, a civil engineer and beneficiary of the training.
An inclusive dynamic: women and young people at the forefront
At the heart of this initiative, the inclusion of young people and women remains a priority. Twenty women have been trained in BTC production, fifteen others have been recruited as quality controllers, and eight women's groups, bringing together 400 female entrepreneurs, have been strengthened to supply gravel to construction sites. The PDIEM's deliberately inclusive approach contributes to the social and economic transformation of local communities. The example of the Sérèkali crushers and the young women trained in quality control bear witness to this paradigm shift.
To guarantee a qualified local workforce and strengthen the Groupements de Très Petites Entreprises (GTPE), workshops to co-construct the tender documents (DAO) have been held with the associations of communes (ACAD, APIDA, ADECOB) and the beneficiary communes.
Specific clauses on local employment, indentured labour and subcontracting were introduced into public contracts to encourage the direct involvement of GTPEs in the execution of works, thus ensuring an equitable redistribution of economic spin-offs.
Eco-construction for climate protection and sustainable development
Beyond the economic stakes, the promotion of local materials responds to ecological concerns: reduction of carbon footprint, thermal comfort, sustainable management of resources, energy savings. Infrastructures built using BTC thus contribute to mitigating the effects of climate change, while guaranteeing technical performance and aesthetics in harmony with the local heritage.
With the PDIEM, Swiss Cooperation is doing more than just constructing buildings. It is building a new vision of local development, rooted in the realities on the ground, sustainable, inclusive and profoundly transformative. The challenge of eco-construction using local materials in Benin, once marginal, is gradually becoming the norm.
