Committed and responsible, Technicoflor, a family-run company specializing in the creation of fragrance compositions, plant extracts, aromatic raw materials and food flavors, has been working to protect the planet ever since. "Trying to do tomorrow a little better than today has always been our guiding principle".says François-Patrick Sabater, President of TechnicoFlor. Since 2017, the company has been supporting the NGO L'Homme et l'Environnement in a solidarity economy and biodiversity protection project in Burkina Faso.
Burkina Faso has been experiencing dramatic environmental degradation for many years. Indeed, the development of cotton monoculture, particularly in the forest corridor along the Kabore Tambi National Park, and the massive use of chemical fertilizers threaten both elephants (the south of the country is home to the largest community of elephants in West Africa) and the sustainable development of the region's populations, who are among the poorest in the world. However, the region is rich in shea trees, the harvesting of which would boost the local economy and maintain biodiversity while preserving the elephants. However, the local population - and women in particular - will have to find more financial benefits than in cotton cultivation.
That's where TechnicoFlor comes in. Since 2017 the company has been supporting the Elephas program of the NGO L'Homme et l'Environnement, a solidarity initiative promoting the production of shea butter, the manufacture and sale of cosmetics and soaps, as an alternative to cotton cultivation. The company graciously provides the perfume concentrates that go into the soaps sold by the women on the local market, helping to increase their competitiveness. To date, the fruit of the soap production and its marketing in France by the Elephas Paris brand has already enabled the financing of 2,000 meals at the school canteen, 500 kilos of cereals for rural schools and the travel of schoolchildren from six villages around the elephant corridor.
Today, TechnicoFlor is going one step further. Its funding will enable a group of women to receive training in beekeeping development, acquire equipment and launch a new sector. This funding will then help to build a well to provide drinking water for the local population and water the nurseries. It will also help develop a small chicken and rooster farm for 15 local women.
"By committing ourselves to this project, we want to help populations without local support to invest in the protection of biodiversity. As a perfume composition company, we felt it was important to participate in the enhancement of natural resources and to initiate the development of more equitable supply chains".explains Maxime Gransart, Assistant General Manager of TechnicoFlor.
