Ecofriend

The idea is to extract and manufacture cellulose from weeds and agricultural waste, thereby saving the trees cut down to produce paper and productively managing farm waste.

Ecofriend is a service-based startup which provides organized labor and also a manufacturing unit. We offer free weeding for plantations and in turn take the weeds and agricultural waste( plant byproducts like coconut husk, cut branches, areca peels) with us. Weeding is done using a solar-powered machine that cuts and stores the weeds in a bag attached to it. Once the bag is full, it is removed and an empty bag is attached to it. The machine is similar to a lawnmower but is driven by an electric motor. It creates a vacuum while cutting the weeds and sucks the cut weeds and fills the bag attached to it, just like a lawnmower but it is built to work in the uneven terrain of a farm. The weeds and waste collected is then taken to the manufacturing unit where cellulose is extracted from the waste efficiently and market-grade cellulose is manufactured. The sludge that remains after extracting cellulose is dumped into several trenches that are dug parallelly in an empty field. Edible mushrooms are harvested in these trenches, the mushrooms absorb the nutrients and decompose sludge in the trenches into organic manure that can be used as a natural fertilizer.

I'm native to a village in India where plantation is the most common form of agriculture and most people depend on it for their livelihoods. Areca nut, Coconut, Chikoo and Silver Oak are the most common plantations here. Plantations need regular weeding at an interval of two months and it is conventionally done using petrol powered brush cutters which are neither ecofriendly not user friendly.

Lot of waste like areca and coconut leaves, areca and coconut husk, and trimmed oak of branches is produced in the plantations. This waste is just littered in the fields and left to decay eventually.

Majority of the population of the village and the surrounding area is comprised by plantation owners and a very few people who don't own much land work as laborers in the plantations. Laborers are needed in the plantations only on certain days of a month. The imbalance in demand and supply results in lack of laborers for work when required and no work for the laborers on other days. Also, there is no fixed pay for the laborers as they work for daily wages and whoever offers them the most gets to work as soon as they need them. As a whole unorganized nature of the agricultural labor sector is a problem for both employer and the employee.

On a larger scale deforestation is a global hazard and paper industry has a significant contribution in it. A large number of trees are cut to produce paper around the world. A sustainable alternative that does not involve cutting of trees for paper production is the need of the hour.

Hence, the people of my community need an efficient way for way for weeding that is cost effective and does not involve fossil fuel and pollution and a productive technique for agricultural waste management. An organized sector for agricultural labor would save the laborers from seasonal unemployment, create a fixed pay scale for them and also reduce nuisance of looking for cost effective labor when required for plantation owners. Globally, deforestation is a known hazard and its high time that conventional way of paper production is updated.

Ecofriend mainly aims to reduce the global deforestation caused due to paper industry. In a way Ecofriend affects the life of all of us with an aim to establish sustainability while creating a productive technique for agricultural waste management. At the ground level this idea serves the rural population of farmers and agricultural laborers. It provides free weeding service for plantations and also manages the agricultural waste produced in these farms without any cost. The agricultural laborers in this area are struggling to make the ends meet due the unorganized nature of their job. Organizing this sector will be a dream come true for them.

I'm a part of the village in which we operate and being from the agricultural background I understand the problem and requirements of the plantation owners and laborers of the village. Our family also owns areca nut and chikoo plantations. Therefore, I have a firsthand experience of the problems faced by the people of this community. A large part of the solution is based on the suggestions provided by the laborers who work with us in our plantation. After several rounds of discussion with the friends and relatives belonging to this underserved population and taking implications from my personal experience I have come up with this solution.

I have explained this idea to several households individually and also at many ceremonial and religious gatherings of the community. This idea has received an overwhelming positive feedback and many women in the village are eager to join the manufacturing unit once it opens. All plantation owners have also deemed it to be very convenient way to reduce to significantly reduce their workload and cut down the cost spent on weeding the plantations. 

Ecofriend is still an idea that is being explored for its feasibility by conducting surveys regarding the the idea in population it aims to help. After several rounds of discussion with the people belonging to the underserved community and on basis of my observations, I have come up with this idea. I have discussed this idea with the potential benefactors and received a positive feedback. I have also made significant improvements in the idea considering their suggestions.

I have finalized the technique of cellulose extraction after reading several open source articles and significant research. The blueprint of the solar powered weeding machine has also been developed. We look forward to build the physical prototype of the weeding machine and start testing the cellulose extraction technique as soon as we receive some financial assistance.

Our solution is mostly dependent on biotechnology. An efficient technique for extraction of cellulose from plants products having variable cellulose composition is the core technology that drive the idea. After sufficient time spent on search for a sustainable and cost efficient technique, reading open source articles and research papers we have come up with a technique that would do the needful with using a combination of machines and human labor.

We also use electric motor driven solar powered weeding machine to efficiently remove and collect the weeds from plantations.

Sustainability is the main mission of Ecofriend. Reducing the deforestation due to paper production by using an alternative manufacturing technique is the aim of this idea. We also look forward employ rural women in our manufacturing unit as the job suits them the most. Making them financially independent will be an important milestone in our journey.