SMILE WASTE

In Benin, the national energy balance shows a predominance of wood energy, which represents nearly 90% of final energy consumption, leading to pressure on plant resources: the deforestation rate estimated at 50,000 ha/year in 2020. Faced with the strong demographic growth, agricultural expansion, the qualitative and quantitative increase in solid waste, in the cities of Benin in particular in N'dali in the North, it is urgent that the appropriate actions be undertaken with a view to waste recovery.
In order to enable precarious households in the city of N’dali to cook in good sanitary conditions and while respecting the environment, Smile Waste proposes to transform available agricultural and household waste into solid biofuels. Thanks to our solution, we are helping to protect the environment and ultimately to the cogeneration of clean energy for cooking. Internationally, our project leads to the achievement of 12 SDGs out of 17 adopted in September 2015.

N’Dali is a town in the department of Borgou (North Benin) with a population of over 16,941, most of whom are poor households. The cultivation of peanuts and cotton is the most practiced economic activity by nearly 75% of the inhabitants. This income-generating activity leaves enough waste in the city. The waste from cotton and peanut ginning does not find an appropriate destination; Moreover, these precarious households do not have their own cooking energy. Thus, natural forest resources are their primary sources of energy. They degrade forests to make charcoal for cooking food. In fact, more than 2,000 trees have been felled every month since 1985 in N’Dali. The charcoal trade feeds many households. But this city risks facing the consequences of its actions on the environment. Indeed, the specific problem we seek to solve is the lack of Clean Energy for cooking. Based solely on the city's Strengths Weaknesses opportunities and threats, we will offer solid biofuels made from the available waste.

Our solution is to create a social and solidarity enterprise in the municipality of N’Dali which will aim to produce solid briquettes from available waste bases.
The technology will consist of using machines for such productions.
Characteristics of briquettes:
Our briquettes will be produced without carbonizing any waste using:
- Peanut shell
- Cashew nutshell
- Market paper
- The science of wood
- water
- Round shape
- Gray / black color
- Solid and hard in combustion
- Weight 125g

To ensure that the briquettes are compacted, we will use an industrialized press.
Feature of the press: Residues of agglomeration biomass:

Effect of particle size and shape of residues from agro-densification. The ideal size has been identified at 6.8 mm.
Effect of humidity. The ideal level was 8 to 10 percent.
Effect of preheating feed and studied temperature up to 90 to 110 degrees centigrade for animal feed has been optimized.
Temperature effect on death was significant and the temperature of 280-290 0C was observed at the most appropriate
Effect of mixing husk rice with bagasse and pith bagasse to achieve briquettes of these materials.

N’Dali is a town in the department of Borgou (North Benin) with a population of over 16,941, most of whom are poor households. With the expansion of cotton and peanut cultivation, nearly 75% of this demographic is busy with that. This booming activity is accompanied by the proliferation of agricultural waste. This makes the city less clean and exposes the community to respiratory diseases, water pollution, etc.
On the other hand, for cooking their food, more than 80% of households use wood energy. This practice of overexploitation of woody natural resources for energy purposes impoverishes the ecosystem. We are witnessing:
- The disappearance of certain plant species;
- The relocation of wild animal species sources of hemorrhagic diseases observed in recent years in northern Benin;
- Pollution of water and the atmosphere.
I am Beninese, I did my primary studies in N’Dali. I have a good command of this town. I lived for 5 years in these problems. Here I am, today determined to take up the challenge in order to change this city.
Our solution is to set up a for-profit association that will allow agricultural groups to flourish and households to find clean energy for cooking. Indeed, our association will transform agricultural waste from groups into biofuel. The development of the municipality will take from our installation because we base our business on a circular economy.

Speaking of alignment with the challenge, we'll start with the target population. The inspiration that led to the implementation of this idea is the social cause. The level of poverty and increased vulnerability in the town of N’Dali. Thus, we had sought the relationship between safeguarding the environment and reducing poverty. This is the inspiration that led to the establishment of this association. Moreover, cotton residues and peanut shells come from their flagship activities, which is agricultural production. The inhabitants are our first partners, our potential customers, and are at the center of all of our innovation.

Smile Waste is an organization registered with APIEx under the RCCM: RB / ABC / 20 B 3620 of 07/12/2020, IFU: 3202012173147 deploying products and business models tested in the communities of Abomey-Calavi and N'Dali. We are in the pilot phase of this project. Thanks to our technical partners, we are testing the briquettes with around twenty households in the municipality of Abomey-Calavi and around ten in N'Dali. With CLEAN ENERGY FOR AFRICA SARL (located in Paraná, Abomey-Calavi, Benin) and Association Gbobetô: (Djilado, Porto-Novo, Benin) we have succeeded in having a first model of experimentation. With this model, we will easily make our briquettes based on residues from cotton ginning and peanut shells in the commune of N'Dali (North Benin)

The innovation in our project is in the design and sales policy
The identification of this idea is already an innovation. In the town of N’Dali, no structure is responsible for waste management. We are the first to identify this problem.
In addition, as part of the production of our briquettes, the technical equipment (presses, dryers) will be automatic.
As far as sales policy is concerned, grassroots work with households. The validation of the quality of the briquettes will be done with our potential customers who are households.

The goal is to reach 900 households in the commune of N’Dali.
Currently our solution, although it is in the pilot phase, is already serving 10 households in the municipality of N’Dali and 20 households in the municipality of Abomey-Calavi
In a year, with our work plan established, we will reach 900 households
In five years, we will fill up 30000 households

We will qualify this project as a success if we succeed in:
- Increase the income of agricultural groups who will sell us as soon as we set up their waste
- Create more than 10 green jobs for local youth and women
- Create new sources of income for households who will sell us their household waste
- Reduce hemorrhagic virus diseases generally carried by wild animals
- Reduce the exposure rate of the poorest to the consequences of climate change
- Reduce the deforestation rate in northern Benin by 30 ha/year
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
- Improve the quality of life of more than 900 precarious households in the city;
- Train households on the design of improved stoves based on the principle of the Venturi tube;
- Create training centers for gatekeepers in the city;
- Participate in the sanitation of the city;
- Participate in reducing the vulnerability of households;
- Make beneficiaries accountable for their consumption
- Former beneficiaries of eco-citizen gestures;

We work as a team. I am with :
- Marguérite Zannou, communication manager of the box,
+229 62624014

linkedin.com/in/marguerite-zannou

Bruno

I'm a senior technician in Renewable Energies. In 2020 I was laureate of the Scholar Entrepreneurship Found (SEF 2) of the Mastercard Foundation at UAC: A program that aims to train and finance business ideas led by scholarship holders of the MasterCard Foundation at the University of Abomey -Calavi. He is the founder of Smile Waste, a startup that advocates for the recovery of waste into energy. I am an environmental activist, member of the JVE (Young Volunteer for the Environment).

Marguérite 

Marguérite is continuing her university studies in computer security at the Institute for Training and Research in Computer Science (IFRI) and is in her second year. Since high school, she was already involved in projects that have transferred her experiences such as: ensuring the visibility of a company, the creation of a site and a Web Application, the updating of the Web pages of society. In short, it, therefore, demonstrates a good mastery of modeling software in 3D as in 2D. Apart from mastering IT tools, Marguérite is very easily involved in commercial activities.

I am Bruno Gbodjivi, I am in the 3rd year of Renewable Energy Studies at the University of Abomey-Calavi. I am a Mastercard Foundation Scholar. I have benefited from this technical and financial support thanks to my academic skills and my high degree of leadership. In 2020, I was the Scholar Entrepreneurship Found laureate of the Mastercard Foundation at UAC. I run a lot of socio-economic projects. Indeed, I co-founded Smile Waste, a startup that advocates for the recovery of waste into energy. I am the founder of Donex, a small agro-industrial company that opts for the consumption of local drinks. In the company, I was a freelance writer at the ABMS-PSI (Beninese Association of Social Marketing- PSI) in Benin. I was president of the Young Love & Life club of the municipality of Abomey-Calavi for 2016-2017. I am an environmental activist, member of the JVE (Young Volunteer for the Environment). I am Secretary of the Ecological Pressure Movement and a member of the board of directors of the Official LEGACY program; Both programs aimed at the sanitation of cities in Benin. I am a Rotaractor of the District 9102 Rotaract Club of Cotonou Locomotive Ganhi (Rotaract clubs are partners of Rotary International clubs who opt for integrity, leadership, training, networking worldwide). These are so many words that make me Bruno that I am. And so in order to pursue this leadership title and changeMaker, I want to be a member of The Resolution.