Inspiring young climate leaders at LCOY Senegal 2026

Young people, organisations and climate actors from all over Senegal recently came together in Dakar for LCOY Senegal 2026, the Local Conference of Youth. Marie-Louise, from our team in Senegal, was there too. At the climate solutions fair, she introduced visitors to Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) and the regreening work we do together with communities in the Groundnut Basin. And with the help of a traditional bowl of lakh, she made sure the message stuck. 

A stage for young climate voices 

LCOY is part of YOUNGO, the official youth constituency of the UNFCCC. Every year, these local conferences give young people the chance to exchange ideas and solutions with organisations and climate actors. Together, they write a national youth statement that feeds into the global Conference of Youth and, ultimately, the COP. In other words: what is discussed in Dakar travels all the way to the world’s biggest climate conference. 

Smart, simple and led by communities 

At our stand, Marie-Louise presented FMNR, also known as Treecovery, as the smart and low cost approach we use in the Groundnut Basin. By selecting and pruning the stems that sprout from living tree stumps and roots in their fields, farmers can bring trees back to their land without planting a single seedling. She also introduced visitors to the mises en défens. These are our Karkaral (a local name for the Treecovery technique) demonstration sites, but above all, they are areas protected by the surrounding communities themselves: places of worship, conservation areas and water points for animals outside the rainy season. Each area is governed by rules of use agreed by the community. 

“We support communities in obtaining official deliberations from the municipality,” Marie-Louise explains. “That way, the effect can be scaled up, and we can stop these areas from being cleared by the surrounding fields.” To bring it all to life, Marie-Louise showed our animated cartoon Minian, together with some before/after FMNR pictures to show the impact of the technique.

A lesson in a bowl of lakh 

Explaining pruning to a crowd of young visitors calls for a good example, and Marie-Louise found one close to home: lakh, a traditional Senegalese millet dish. “Picture a group of people all gathered around one bowl of lakh, and then picture one person alone in front of a bowl of lakh,” she says. “Fewer stems sharing the same resources grow stronger. That comparison really resonated with them.” The conversations didn’t stop at trees. Marie-Louise and the young visitors also talked about what they want to become later in life, and she shared the path that led her to a career in the environmental sector. 

A busy day in Dakar 

The stand was busy all day long. Visitors included a representative of the Peace Corps, the President of the Plateforme des Volontaires du Sénégal, the Director of CorpsAfrica Senegal, representatives of Enabel and youth delegations from several schools. At the end of the day, Marie-Louise was also invited to present our work to all participants of the LCOY session. For some visitors, it was a pleasant surprise. They already knew Justdiggit but had no idea we were active in Senegal. Others discovered Karkaral for the very first time! 

One thing is clear: Senegal’s young people are ready to dig in, and we can’t wait to see what grows from here!