Entrepreneur turns trash to gold by making 3D- printer filaments.

A new startup plans to help waste pickers earn more by turning plastic waste into a more valuable product 3-D printing filament. The company is turning trash to gold by buying trash and making a component of 3D printer. They produce the plastic thread-like material that 3-D printers use instead of ink. Recycling plastic bottles into filament can help waste pickers increase their incomes by as much as 20 times.The startup will launch in Dar es Salaam and plans to expand to other cities. Around the world, around 40 million waste pickers currently earn less than $2 a day for their work. The demand for the filament is growing a one forecast suggests that 3-D printer sales will double each year for the next few years. By 2019, 5.6 million 3-D printers will sell in a year.The company is working on various models to pay waste pickers. The value increase for them is around 20 times what they make now from the plastic they sell, but that's not the best way to go about impact—giving one waste picker 20 times as much as he makes now. The company is looking into finding ways to either prolong the impact—give them a sustained level of income—or spread it out over a larger group. The company plans to expand to various cities they hope to locate near their biggest markets.The company thinks that developing countries will eventually also become bigger markets for the product, 3-D printing objects that are currently shipped in from elsewhere. See more

Startup creates wealth by turning waste to plastic lumber.

A start-up in Tanzania called EcoAct are recycling consumer waste into plastic lumber, which it calls “an affordable alternative to timber.This reduce the use of building material manufactured from wood. EcoAct believes this will help to preserve forests and have a positive effect on climate change. The startup is on a quest to create sustainable jobs for people in marginalized communities while preserving the environment and reducing effects of climate change by providing eco-friendly quality building products. The startup's vision is to turn waste to wealth by creating ecofriendly products and empowering people. read

Education and role of sanitary pads.

A Kenyan company Pad Heaven, which makes low-cost sanitary pads using the fibres and stems of banana plants. “Their technology converts the plant pulps to make pads that are hygienic, affordable and 95% bio-degradable. Describing itself as “keeping girls in class one pad at a time,” PadHeaven’s Florence Kamaitha says over 900,000 girls in Kenya miss up to four days a month from school due to lack of access to affordable sanitary pads. “We are changing that through our re-usable sanitary pads which we produce with the help of the inmates at Langata women’s prison.” The company came second place at the GIST (Global Innovation through Science and Technology) a major science and technology boot camp in Johannesburg, South Africa. The event was organized for 80 “young and innovative entrepreneurs” by the US Department of State , Venture Well, the Climate Innovation Center, and South Africa’s The Innovation Hub. The pad heaven initiative is

Agriculture: using banana stems as sanitary pads.

Agriculture is the 21st century goldmine,with various innovative ideas and projects coming up to improve lives. Agriculture has intervened in various facets of economy by providing alternate sources of various raw materials through improved farming methods and most especially by turning waste to wealth. New agricultural techniques has seen impressive innovations from utilizing hitherto waste materials to money spinning products. Bananas has proved to be an all encompassing product with its suckers in various in various industries.Bananas are of tremendous health benefits and are in high demand in food processing companies.They are also in the petroleum industry where they are used as bio fuels. The fibers are used for clothing,paper,mats,cushion and sanitary pads. Agriculture has shown that no part of the banana is useless. Advances in agriculture has also produced improved varieties of bananas that are tastier,mature faster and produce more in a small land space. The waste to wealth innovation using agricultural products has created jobs, increased wealth of farmers ,expanded markets and increase trade relations between countries. Bananas have also impacted education of girls in developing countries by the use of the stems for sanitary pads. A lot of girls in developing countries miss school because of the menstrual flow,because they cannot afford sanitary towels,thereby sourcing alternatives which are not necessarily hygienic. The production of sanitary pads from banana stems has put an end to absentism in school as cheap pads are available for them. Learn how to make sanitary pads using banana stems ;

Agriculture; improved bananas turns farmer to millionaire.

Agriculture has evolved over the years with improved techniques,seed improvement,genetic modification, biotechnology and precision farming. The advantages of these new techniques include new breed and strains, production within a short time with limited capability ,cost reduction through reduction of labor force and most importantly higher profit. The discovery of planting improved seeds and tissue culture tubers have turned many farmers to millionaires.The production of bananas from tissue cultured tubers is one of such agricultural feats that have added value to banana farming and also more money in the hands of farmers. The health benefits of bananas/ plantain can not be overemphasized and this love can be turned to a business venture ,which is equally rewarding. Bananas/ plantain can be packaged raw and fresh or processed and packaged for sale. The business of frying and packaging plantain as snack is another topic entirely that will be discussed later. A recent interview with a farmer with plantain/banana plantation shed some more light on the planting and nurturing of the fruit.There are various species that can be cultivated, that starts fruiting at about 5 months and new varieties are also available courtesy of bio crops which fruit earlier , grow bigger and tastes better. Thinking of starting a plantation? consider this; The soil type should be virgin with added advantage if it has river-silt deposits. The soil does not have too be too deep,because banana /plantain crops are shallow rooted.The best soil type is loamy drained to 4-6 feet deep is recommended, heavy clay soils are unsuitable. The variety/specie depends on choice of the farmer as well as target market,the new improved varieties and imported varieties have been used extensively in the field. Land preparation entails,clearing the land and fell any tree on site; line and stake out so that the plantation will not be haphazard. Dig holes that should be at least 1 .5 x 1.5 x 1.5.,and note the heavier the soil the larger the planting hole. continue Mary Kiptoo from Sambalat who has diversified into tissue-culture bananas under furrow irrigation as an additional source of money and food.“Banana farming requires low capital and is less labour intensive unlike maize or even vegetables,” she explained, noting that farmers in the region share some of the tissue-culture banana tubers for planting. The mother four has about 1,000 banana tubers in her two acres, which she cultivates alongside finger millet, sorghum and cassava for subsistence use.The bananas grow uniformly and mature within eight months thus facilitating easy harvesting and marketing earning farmers a lot of money. Millionaire

Earn millions from banana fiber business.

Fabric from bananas, from the stalk of a banana plant has been utilized by cultures in Japan,Africa and Southeast Asia The technology is fast spreading to various countries because of the profitability of venture,that attracts foreign and local customers .Fiber extraction is followed by boiling the strips in an alkaline solution to soften and separate them. The boiling and washing the strips is followed by the skins and fibers separated from one another,then the fibers are joined The threads are then ready for spinning, during which they must be kept wet in order to prevent snapping or breaking. Dyeing and weaving the yarns are the final parts of the process, producing a high quality material that can be used for various applications. The fineness of the fiber determines the thickness of the yarn, as finer yarn is used for clothing, medium grade yarn is used for table cloths, curtains and cushion covers, while thicker, coarser yarn is used for basket weaving, floor mats and bags. Japanese have been processing banana fibers for nearly 900years and have perfected the art of creating banana cloth. The finest fibers of the banana stalk are reserved for kimono dresses and kamishimo, a formal garment worn by the samurai. Nepalese artisans have also been creating beautiful and lavish rugs out of banana fibers, as their moisture-wicking properties make them the ideal floor coverings for tropical climates. Alongside these traditional uses, banana fibers are also used for interior purposes such as cushion covers, curtains, tablecloths, bags and even paper and journals. This has also created a wealthy income to a Mr Patrick Gatare, an entrepreneur from Kirinyaga County was crowned the overall winner and bagged Ksh2 million cash prize. National Environment Trust Fund (NETFUND) recognized the 50-year-old for his Banana Fibre production initiative that has seen the community make mats, hand woven bags (Kiondos) and wall hangings, which have a robust market both locally and internationally, uplifting lives of the Kirinyaga residents.Read

Money making opportunity in banana fibers and landmine victims in Uganda.

Landmine victims have formed a co-op to create rope from banana fiber.Kasese District, in western Uganda, is especially ripe with the fruit. It is also an area of the country with a difficult history. Many of the workers lost limbs after landmines were planted in this part of Uganda. The explosives were mainly deployed by rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces during a 20-year insurgency against President Museveni. That conflict ended in 2005, but the scars of war haven't gone away. Many of these workers turned to this trade after losing their ability to farm the mountainous area they come from. On the fertile farmlands of Uganda's Kasese district, miles and miles of lush banana plantations dot the green landscape. This is one of the biggest banana growing areas in the east-central African country, where most people make a living through subsistence farming. The nutrient-rich fruit is not the only source of income for farmers in the region. After harvesting the crop, locals also extract banana fiber from the trunk of the plant. This can be used for a whole range of products -- from household goods and handicrafts to bags and textiles.The products attract a lot of money as decorators,interior designers e.t.c patronize them. Taking advantage of the abundance of the natural product, a group of landmine victims have formed a co-operative association to make rope out of banana fiber and sell it for a profit. After using water to soften the leaves, the members of the Kasese Landmine Survivors Association split them into small pieces depending on the color and the thickness of the rope they want to make. Once the banana fibers are weaved together, the co-op sells it to various clients in bulk. Read more