I weaved my way through the different exhibition booths.
This was the first Eastern Agroecology conference organised by Biovision Africa Trust.
First things first…what’s agroecology?
Well agroecology might be defined simply as doing agriculture in an environmentally friendly way.
In other words, no use of chemicals…
Use of compost and manure…
Develop seed banks of indigenous seeds etc.
Agroecology seeks to improve not only on the yield of food but safe food.
So – back to my ‘booth’ story.
As I weaved my way through different exhibition booths, I stumbled upon a company that seemed to punch way above its weight – EcoFix (K) Ltd.
Now the name seems to give off a measure of what they do but ‘don’t judge the book by it’s cover’, they say.
This SME produces organic fertilizer, bio oils, soaps, chicken feeds and a soil amendment all from one raw material – croton seeds.
These compact brown seeds are common all around us especially where the croton megalocarpus trees thrive.
But this company has managed to take the value chain of this tree a step further.
It draws it’s supplies from croton tree farmers who harvest these seeds from their plantations.
But how possible is it to create this number of products from one raw material?
Well, once harvested, the seeds (which are in real sense hard nuts) are cracked open to expose the oily seed.
The hard covering (kernel) could be treated in several ways:
It could be composted to yield a rich organic fertilizer – a process that lasts for slightly over 60 days…
It could be carbonised (burnt in absence of oxygen) to yield biochar – a unique soil amendment that boosts soil microbiology and helps cleanup soils…
Besides, biochar is also a very formidable water filter.
Now that’s what the kernel can achieve.
But what about the seeds?
These oily seeds are pressed in a compresser to recover oil.
This oil could be converted to biodiesel – a form of renewable energy
So what happens to the mass that remains after extraction of oil?
Well this is called seed cake.
It’s dried and reduced in size before being incorporated into chicken feeds.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Croton seeds are a common place around us.
And there’s something catchy about raw materials that are all too common yet could solve our everyday problems…
Energy…
Food…
Water…
Perhaps there’s something to learn from EcoFix (K) Ltd –
That at times, all we need to succeed is to view everyday things differently.
#circulareconomy
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