Learn more about Sierra Leone
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Sierra Leone is located in the Southwest coast of Western Africa. It has a tropical climate with monsoon season ranging from May to November and dry season lasting from December to May. Sierra Leone gets rainfall for about 130 days in a year which makes it a prime location for planting beans and rice, crops which require high levels of water for growth.
Sierra Leone has a population of about 6.2 million people with a larger youth population (below the age of 25). About 60% of the population lives in rural areas such as Pujehan, our focus area for this project. These villages tend to be smaller, consisting of about 200 to 300 inhabitants. Although there are many languages spoken in different regions of the country, English remains widely popular amongst its locals.
The residents of Sierra Leone lead very simple lives. This simplicity is reflected in the food they eat as well. Much of Sierra Leone’s diet is dependent on three locally grown crops - rice, cassava and beans. These are used in a variety of stews and curries which supplement their staple of steamed rice.
Cooking in Sierra Leone is dependent on the energy produced from biomass, which is an overwhelming 80% of the total biomass energy produced in the country. The locals burn wood and charcoal to run their stoves. Sierra Leone also produces petroleum, about 13% of which is dedicated towards transportation and lighting, with some grid-connected energy. Overall, their net per capita energy usage is only 35 kWh per year which is menial compared to the per capita energy usage for someone living in the United States of over 90,000 kWh of energy per year!