- Noble initiative has been taken up by an entrepreneur in Benin to make a sustainable source of energy.
- Benin Entrepreneur Roland Adjovi transforms plant waste into charcoal.
Benin’s entrepreneur uses raw materials in the form of Maize husks, cassava peelings, organic waste, coconut shells, etc. hoping to slow down the destruction of trees for cooking fuel.
A West African nation’s 36-year-old entrepreneur tried to make more sustainable alternatives in 2017 inspired by seeing the truckloads of charcoal carried out of forested backcountry endlessly.
Benin has been losing out on charcoal which is their primary cooking fuel. The demand for charcoal has been rising in Benin over the years and almost 3.3 million tones of wood has been used as charcoal in 2017 which is much more than 2.5 million tones in 2010 according to the World Bank. The demand is very high and still rising despite its scarcity.
“We’re told to fight deforestation and yet all these sacks of charcoal are being shipped to our towns,” Adjovi said at the headquarters of his business called Eco Sika, where his small team now makes briquettes from agricultural waste.
“We also have rice husks that we use, banana peel, pineapple skin – if we find it, we turn it into sustainable charcoal.”
Africa has been producing almost 60% of charcoal in the world and it is produced out of woodlands which leads to the degradation of forests as per a 2017 report by the United Nations food agency.
According to FAO, very few produce charcoal sustainably in small volumes and Adjovi is one of those trying to change the method of producing charcoal by using plant waste. They collect, sort, and dry the organic waste and process it into briquettes which are carbonized into powder before burning and then selling in larger sacks by kilogram.
“With just a small amount, I cook for my four children and me and there’s still some of it left over. It’s more economical than wood charcoal,” said Nicole Guelley, 30, as she stirred a pot of beans on a small stove burning Eco Sika fuel.
This is most important initiative that has been taken by the entrepreneur and owner of Roland Adjovi and it is very noble of them to have started preserving the most important reserve of nature. Woodland and vegetation have been getting scarce thus finding an alternative and up cycling forms most important part of today’s world.
