2023-09-21 05:15:00
Created at the initiative of the Solidarité France Sahel association, Oléo-Sine markets the production of an oil mill, located in Sorokh, a village in Senegal. A column in partnership with ToulÉco Montpellier.
The Oléo-Sine company was born from a solidarity approach at the very beginning of the 2000s. Françoise, a nurse, participates in numerous development projects in Senegal and Louis Fontvieille, an economist and researcher at the CNRS. In 1997, the couple left for this country to Sorokh, 80 km from the sea, a village where deforestation had led to a drop in harvests and the exodus of young people towards the city, the women and older men remained.
A few years later, the couple returned to the village with their son Paul and they decided to create the Solidarité France Sahel association with the women of Sorokh. Together, they develop a range of cosmetic products thanks to the know-how of the inhabitants. Women become employees and shareholders of the brand Oléo-Sine and collect different plants and fruits to extract oils like that of the baobab.
The story of an encounter
The years pass, Françoise and Louis get older and their sons cannot resume the activity. In 2020, they met Mamour Seck, an agri-food engineer from Montpellier and originally from Senegal: “I was looking for hibiscus flowers to make juice. Discussions quickly shifted to the development of Senegal and in particular the village of Sorokh. They asked me to take over the cooperative and it made sense to me, because it brings together all my values.” explains the entrepreneur.
Oléo-Sine therefore finds a buyer and continues to produce cosmetics, but also food supplements. “Studies prove that the baobab fruit has many virtues, for engineers it is a superfood.. Today, the company is developing with hibiscus soaps and date palm oil. The new director is trying to improve working conditions and is investing in new machines to better sift the baobab powders and make the daily lives of the women and men on site easier.
Alongside this activity, Mamour Seck has set up a digital platform: Africa Market Place. The objective is to connect producers of raw materials for cosmetic products from West Africa such as Ivory Coast, Senegal and Guinea. “On this platform, we want to have cooperatives with ecological values.” You can find exotic oils, shea butter for example. For the moment, around ten cooperatives are listed.
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