We like sugarcane here in Kenya.

And it’s no secret.

A look down any local street reveals a brand of business men (and women) who take advantage of this golden opportunity. 

These vendors load their carts with sugarcane pieces which they peel and slice into sizeable portions for their customers to enjoy.

But after chewing and sucking up the sugary niceness, where does thewaste go to?

It’s the same scenario in our sugar milling companies.

Tonnes and tonnes of sugarcane waste (bagasse) is produced on an hourly basis due to our insatiable sugar appetite

So much is this waste that some sugar mill workers were once buried alive by a mountain of bagasse when it collapsed in Narok County.

And it took weeks to locate their bodies in the massive heap.

Such happenings need not take place if we consider a product that is easily derived from sugarcane bagasse. 

BIO-ETHANOL

Ever walked close to decomposing sugarcane waste?

The alcoholic odour must have been a pleasant (or not so pleasant) surprise. 

Sugarcane bagasse is a formidable candidate for ethanol production

(Ethanol is synonymous to alcohol).

Nations like Indonesia and Brazil have honed the art and science of its production from sugarcane bagasse for ages.

All it takes is applying some microorganisms to the waste for accelerated breakdown of sugars to ethanol.

Bio-ethanol is ethanol derived from plant matter.

In some western nations, it’s derived from food crops such as maize.

However in food scarce African nations, such a stunt won’t work.

But that hasn’t stopped start ups from taking advantage of the opportunities created by the need for renewable energy sources such as bioethanol.

FUEL

With the rise in fuel costs, many low income households struggle to make ends meet.

But instead of seeing the problem, a start-up company called Koko Networks saw an opportunity they could exploit.

They piloted a business of selling special designed stoves that run on bioethanol.

But that wasn’t the end of the story.

These stoves could be replenished by small amounts of fuel allowing low income families not to sleep hungry.

But the best deal yet was that bioethanol costs freed the customers from the wild price fluctuations of kerosene, a fossil fuel often used for cooking.

Koko Networks seem to have gained momentum and discovered their niche.

But more work still needs to be done.

The bioethanol market seems to have expanded beyond the local supply of bioethanol and therefore a substantial amount is imported.

Perhaps if it was sourced locally, the cost transfered to the customers would be lower.

All this is happening in the wake of hundreds of tonnes of bagasse being dumped by sugar millers in their backyards.

Most of the millers wish to ‘hold on’ to their waste because they know the value it has.

So what options do the rest of us have?

AGRO WASTE

Well, it so happens that bioethanol production shouldn’t only be the preserve of sugarcane millers.

Other agrowastes such as rice husks, maize cobs and even domestic kitchen waste have shown promising results in this regard.

All that’s needed are tinkerers willing to test and optimize for better production.

But the sugarcane waste is still available if we choose to roll up our sleeves and dig in the mess.

Remember the sugarcane vendors we had mentioned at the beginning of this write up?

Also have in mind the sugarcane juice vendors and not to mention hotels and restaurants serving sugarcane or disposing fruit wastes?

These are opportunities available for the entrepreneurs willing to roll up their sleeves for bioethanol production.

Even if the product isn’t bought by the more established companies, consumers will…

Because it works.