To address deforestation in Cameroon, an environmental engineer has devised a cheaper, ecological alternative to charcoal, a Mongabay video narrates.
Thirty-year-old Steve Djeutchou has tapped local food markets to supply organic waste to his company, STEMA Group, which then turns the biomass into biochar or black carbon. He says his hope is that biochar will eventually replace charcoal, which is a major reason for the cutting and burning of trees in Cameroon.
According to Global Forest Watch, Cameroon has among the largest forest areas in Africa, but the country lost more than 700,000 hectares (1.7 million acres) between 2002 and 2020.
“If we manage to provide a palliative solution for charcoal or firewood, it means that we have solved a real problem related to deforestation,” Djeutchou tells Mongabay.
Cindy, a local resident of Cameroon’s capital city Yaoundé, tells Mongabay’s video team that she prefers the biochar because it is half the price of charcoal, is more durable and produces less smoke.
The video, produced by Mongabay contributors Erwan Schiex, Thomas Diego Badia and edited by Mongabay’s Juliette Chapalain, shows Djeutchou going to a snack factory and collecting banana peels with his staff in large sacks.
After collection, Djeutchou shows the rest of the process in his open-air workshop. The process involves drying the organic waste then adding it to carbonizers, which Djeutchou designed himself in 2021. The carbonized product is shredded, sieved and then mixed with a stabilizing liquid such as clay or starch. The mixture is then compacted into molds and dried.
Djeutchou’s company produces around three tons of biochar per month, but this is not enough, he says in the video. He needs more resources to scale up, have a significant impact and curb deforestation.
To further his mission, the environmental engineer has been training local residents about waste recovery and biomass. The students are also taught practical electronics skills as an entry point to the renewable energy sector. This sector has an estimated 320,000 jobs across Africa, the Mongabay video says.
Djeutchou’s STEMA Academy has trained around 400 people in the past four years.
“All renewable energies are solutions for mitigating the effects of climate change. So, what better way than to add training to strengthen human resources, to bring in people who believe in the vision, people who share the vision, which is to live in a healthy environment and to industrialize Africa in general, and Cameroon in particular,” Djeutchou says.
Watch the full video: “Biochar from banana peels breaks ground in Cameroon” by Mongabay.
Banner image of biochar by Thomas Diego Badia.
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