Getting to know Augustin

Entrepeneur, lover of life and nature, Ecofund is pleased to introduce you to Augustin!

Alongside his association, APES, Augustin fights against environmental degradation in his region through the creation of an Ecopark which permits the preservation and conservation of a diversity of animal species and plants. Something that speaks to his heart: “These giant trees, especially the silk-cotton, are extraordinary but they disappear daily in Casamance. Some of my favorite animals, in particular the does and monkeys who have no large forest left to hide in from predators. We want to protect them with this very practical action.”

By building fencing and clearing the Ecopark, Augustin’s goal is also to offer to young people, from primary school to university, an environmental education so that they can better assimilate the challenges tied to the protection of their ecosystem and their culture. “For us, the Diola, nature is a gift from God and we respect it by rationally using its riches. But we are losing how we do so. I am very interested by medicinal plants, but this younger generation, who leave the villages for their studies, no longer know about and no longer know how to treat human beings.”

This love of nature and his region has been nurtured from his childhood at the end of the 1960’s, when he divided his time between “school and nature outings, fishing, and working with my parents in their rice plantations. After studying agriculture in France and then Switzerland, he returned to Casamance to help develop his region in particular by opening a travel agency and an ecolodge, Ouidja Hotel. Today with APES and his Ecopark, Augustin continues his green path so that we can all enjoy the beauty and benefits of Casamance nature.

Come on and visit!

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