BANANA/PLANTAIN STEM TO BIODEGRADABLE PACKAGING

About Solution

PROBLEM

Analyzing the situation in Cameroon, Africa and in the world, the context reveals the following problems:

1-Environment destruction caused by Green House Gases lead climate change.

  • Plastic packaging is inappropriately disposed of, thus making their bio-degradation difficult. Despite efforts currently put in place to recycle plastics, millions of plastic wastes still flood our habitats, farmlands, and waterways — thus clogging pipes, and stifling marine life, crop cultivation and rearing of animals. Burnt plastics create greenhouse gases. Cameroon lose 200,000 ha of its plant cover each year because of plastic packaging.
  • 108,000 tons of carbon produced annually by banana/plantain stems abandoned in the field after cutting banana-plantain diets in Cameroon. (Stem decomposition creates carbon)
  • Deforestation caused by cutting of trees to manufacture bags, cardboards, papers, etc. strongly reduces the trees which are supposed to absorb atmospheric CO2 (Carbon Dioxide)

2
Once the plantains in the field are harvested, stems are abandoned and not revalued/recycled.

3
Rural women are regarded as lesser beings in society and their lack of financial empowerment reinforces their weaknesses.

SOLUTION

Currently, 4,000,000 tons of banana-plantain is produced yearly in Cameroon. The innovative solution we are proposing is to process banana-plantain stem into biodegradable packaging (shopping bags, cardboard, roll of paper) that are used in several sectors: agribusiness (pastry shop, catering, bakeries, super-hypermarkets, restaurants, pizzeria), clothing industry ( ready to wear), real estate (furniture packaging, beds....).

OUR ONE YEAR VISION:

  • Jobs generated: 40
  • Person trained per month: 60
  • Production: 144,000 packaging
  • Use of raw material : 7200 trunks
  • Turnover: $ 35,000
  • Carbon reduction in the environment: 82 tonnes

OUR UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION (KEY OF SUCCES)

Triangle of innovation of this project lies in:

  • TIMELINESS: Reduction in the supply time for raw material: The wood used to produce paper packaging generally takes averagely 15 years for reforestation. But plantains stems we use are available every 5 months, once we harvest the plantain diet.
  • QUALITY: With its physical looks close to that of wood: plantain trunks once transformed into packaging are solid, pretty, biodegradable.
  • COST EFFECTIVENESS: The high availability of low-cost raw material, simplicity and speed of the technical transformation route, give to our products a very competitive cost in market.

Having experience in what we do, our love for it, doing it with determination, self-sacrifice are key elements that differentiate us from other. In addition, the solution can be adapted to other countries by using different agricultural waste.

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