ECOLOGY
AND SOLIDARITY
When you love nature, the very least you
can do is respect
it. For around 20 years, the MARATHON DES
SABLES has
shown its strong commitment to this principle.
ATLANTIDE ORGANISATION Internationale doesn’t
just
issue penalties to competitors throwing
bottles and wrappings
on the race route; it also looks for ways
of preserving
the environment.
As a result, two companies now work on
cleaning the
bivouacs. One collects rubbish, the others
destroys it via a unique
auto-combustion incinerator lorry. Every
day toilets are installed
for competitors, using biodegradable products
that help
dissolve human waste. Since every last
detail matters, AOI distributed
little pocket ashtrays in 2008 allowing
smokers to dispose of cigarette
stubs. In the renewable energies sector,
the competitors’ reception
tent gets its electricity from a gel battery.
The battery is recharged via
connection either to a vehicle’s
electric circuit when in use or a solar
panel on
the bivouac.
ECOLOGY AND SOLIDARITY
AOI works alongside EAUSOLEIL association, proof
that solidarity consists first and foremost in bringing
together different skills to get results. The
DROIT AU COEUR and THEOLIA teams share this
philosophy and have generously contributed to
the second phase of a project begun in 2007 in
the small village of JDAID. A kitchen, meeting room, office
and treatment room have now been added to the women’s
artisan workshop, after-school area, nursery and toilets. The
cooperative constitutes a micro economy, improving the position
of women within village life and encouraging people to
continuing living in the desert.
The last phase of the project will include an irrigation network
for crops in the palm-grove, water and sanitation
works in the complex. The medical area will be extended
and equipped |
