24.06.2021

20 years for Madagascar

• The ADES association started in 2001 and turns 20 years old
• ADES founder Regula Ochsner hands over the presidency to Herbert Blaser
• ADES produced 50,000 solar and energy-saving cookers in 2020 alone
• This corresponds to almost 700 000 tonnes of CO2 saved
• Over 200 employees in Madagascar are given a perspective
• Children and adults benefit from educational measures
• Afforestation: over 100 000 trees to be planted in 2021

ADES founder Regula Ochsner is passing on the presidency after 20 years. Current board member Herbert Blaser was confirmed as the new president at the general meeting on 8 May 2021.

Madagascar is one of the countries with the greatest biodiversity in the world. But this unique paradise is in danger. Around 90 percent of the forests have already been lost. Moreover, Madagascar is considered one of the least developed nations in the world. The Corona crisis has hit the country hard and a catastrophic famine is rampant in the poor south of the country. In this environment, ADES has been offering prospects for 20 years.

The ADES association has been producing energy-efficient cookers since 2001 and supports people in Madagascar in protecting the forest and the climate. The solar and energy-saving cookers are produced in the association's own workshops by more than 200 employees. ADES cooking solutions make it possible to reduce fuel consumption by 50 to 70 percent. Each cooker reduces CO₂-emissions by about 3 tonnes annually. This enables Malagasy households to make substantial financial savings, improves their health situation by eliminating smoke emissions and at the same time counteracts the progressive loss of forests in Madagascar.

Production on site

ADES produces and sells up to 50,000 solar and energy-saving cookers annually. Eight centres are located all over the island. The cooker production is accompanied by reforestation, education and awareness-raising projects. For every cooker sold, ADES plants two trees, well over 100,000 this year alone. To enable Madagascar's poor population to benefit from energy-efficient cookers, they are sold at heavily discounted prices. To save Madagascar's forests from disappearing, ADES has ambitious growth targets. By 2025, the association wants to increase production and sales to 70 000 units and significantly expand reforestation and education.

 

 

Interview with the new president of the association Herbert Blaser

 Who is Herbert Blaser?
I am married, have two grown-up children and live in Adliswil. I am still fully employed and work for u-blox in Thalwil, where I manage a product division as an engineer and business economist. Outside of work, you can find me a lot in nature and doing sports, or with nice people over a meal.

On 8 May, you were elected President of ADES. How did your path lead you to Madagascar and ADES and why did you decide to make yourself available for the office of president of the association?
About 10 years ago I was able to set up a sustainability programme for u-blox and was looking for suitable projects. I remembered an impressive cooking demo with the ADES parabolic cooker in front of the Globus in Zurich and contacted Regula. She got our company as a long-time sponsor and me as a volunteer that afternoon. Four years ago I was invited to join the board and got to know and appreciate ADES much better. Two intensive trips to Madagascar strengthened my idea that ADES has a very important mission. Since our children have moved out in the meantime, I now have more time to also give something back to the society and have taken over the presidency from Regula.

ADES can look back on a twenty-year success story. Where do you currently see the biggest challenges and opportunities?
For me, ADES is a sustainable lighthouse project because the donations are used extremely efficiently. For every franc donated, two francs flow to Madagascar thanks to the sale of CO2 certificates. ADES has grown strongly in terms of personnel in recent years and is at a point where structures and processes should be adapted in such a way that further growth is possible. If we succeed in selling more cookers, sensitising more children and planting more trees with the available funds, this will benefit Madagascar.

In which area would you like to set new accents as president?
During my various visits to ADES in Madagascar, I met some, mostly younger, staff members who give me hope: they are well educated, recognise the problems in Madagascar and are willing to work for a better future. We want to promote and challenge local leaders more.

What do you wish for ADES and the country of Madagascar?
I hope that ADES will be able to sell CO2 certificates for many years to come. Every OLI cooker sold saves several tonnes of wood a year and gives us financial resources to invest in other projects like solar energy, education and reforestation. If we do our job well, we will create many more jobs and can do our part to ensure that the beautiful nature continues.