ISSUE 11 The Ripe Fruits of Waste Management... Triple victory for innovators turning waste diapers into fuel
Leafy Ke from the informal settlement of Kibera caught global attention at this year’s ClimateLaunchpad competition with their innovative idea of turning used diapers into clean fuel that can... Page 4
Thika company converts waste plastic into synthetic oil for use in industries
Reaping rich from solid waste From waste hides and skins to beautiful leather products, Escon’s story
Deep in the heart of Thika Town, a constituency that has been christened by many as the Birmingham of the region, lies Alternative Energy Systems Limited (AESL), a company that has come... Page 10
One startup in Machakos manages discarded low-grade hides and skins to produce leather items through vegetable tanning process that is environmentally friendly. Escon Leather Creations gets the... Page 22 1
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Contents
Triple victory for innovators turning waste diapers into fuel Thika company converts waste plastic into synthetic oil Sustainable waste management equals better quality of life Technological Trends in Waste Management Exposure to noxious asbestos needs to be alleviated with care From waste hides and skins to beautiful leather products, Escon’s story
Executive Editor – Edward Mungai Editorial Director – Ruth Ndegwa Senior Editor - Ernest Chitechi Editor – Solomon Irungu Commissioning Editor - Vincent Ogaya Writers – Kevin Oscar, Arnold Muthanga, Faith Jelagat, Vincent Ogaya, Solomon Irungu Contributors – Lydia Theuri Photography – Different sources Layout – Solomon Irungu A publication of KCIC. communication@kenyacic.org 2
Kenya Climate Innovation Center
Editorial
The expanding volume and unpredictability of waste that is related to globalization is slowly, yet surely, becoming a menace to the management of the ecosystem. The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) estimates that every year, 11.2 billion tonnes of solid waste is amassed while the decay of the organic proportion of solid waste is contributing about 5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Every year, an estimated 11.2 billion tons of solid waste are collected worldwide. Poor waste management - extending from non-existing assortment frameworks to insufficient disposal methods not only causes air contamination but water pollution and solid degradation. Open and unsanitary landfills projects add to sullying of drinking water and can cause contamination and transmit infections. A case for example is the contaminated Nairobi River. Although different arms of the government are putting in efforts to clean the river, there have been several cases of diseases outbreaks with Cholera in particular reported to have claimed several lives. The remedy for this is minimizing of waste. Where waste can’t be kept away from, recuperation of materials and energy from waste just as remanufacturing and reusing waste into usable items ought to be the subsequent choice. In this issue of the Live Green magazine, different minds have come in with different articles to address the topic of waste management (Innovations, opportunities, challenges and how they can be addressed, new trends and successes). You can contribute an article in the subsequent publications of Live Green by sending in your 500 – 550 words article
to communication@kenyacic.org. The magazine is distributed online for free to thousands of KCIC subscribers, partners and clients. To run an advertisement on the publication, send in your inquiry with the information you wish to advertise to info@kenyacic.org. About KCIC Clients Clients who successfully complete this program graduate to the KCIC GreenTech Accelerator Program. The GreenTech Accelerator Program is a 6-month program (together with a 1-month pre-accelerator period) targeting clients who graduate from the KCIC Incubator Program. At this level, we provide clients with highly individualized services aimed at setting the clients on a rapid business growth path and preparing them for higher investments. The application guidelines and process are available on our website www.kenyacic.org/apply. Ernest Chitechi, Senior Editor and KCIC Corporate Services Manager. 3
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Leafy Ke from the informal settlement of Kibera caught global attention at this year’s ClimateLaunchpad competition with their innovative idea of turning used diapers into clean fuel that can be used for cooking. The clean energy startup now joins Kenya Climate Innovation Center (KCIC)’s incubation program as well as the EIT Climate-KIC’s accelerator program for greentech entrepreneurs where they will be given the knowledge, resources, tools and coaching required of clean-tech startups in order for them to succeed. Guided by the belief that no idea is limited, Denis, the co-founder, shares lots of ideas on turning waste diapers into something useful, Leafy Ke’s journey and why the youth should be at the forefront with ideas to propel Sustainable Development Goals.
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Triple victory for innovators turning waste diapers into fuel
Leafy Ke being awarded during CLP Africa Finals
By Vincent Ogaya
What are the prospects of producing fuel from diapers through your idea?
At the moment we are at the prototype stage. The fuel we produce at this stage is targeted at specific customers in order to get the feedback and improve on a number of areas. We are soon going to do an official release of the prototype into the market.
What is unique about your fuel?
When we do comparison with other cheap dirty fuels that are readily available in the market, we realize our fuel is clean and the calorific value, that is the level of energy in it is quiet high as compared to other fuels in the market. That means you only need it in small amounts to do big cooking. This is an advantage given that most of our meals as Africans require a lot of energy to be able to be cooked well. The advantage here with our fuel therefore is that it is not that bulky. Our fuel is also customizable to stoves in regular use so people don’t have to incur extra costs in acquiring new stoves. This generally helps in cutting down the costs by making it affordable.
Leafy Ke Co-founder receives the green idea category award
Healthwise, environmentally‌
As you know diapers are a menace, they are all over the environment. Getting them from the environment and converting them to something useful is
Celebrating victory after emerging top in Africa 5
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quite promising for biodiversity. The use of this fuel once it is fully rolled out will also help in reducing the use of dirty forms of fuel such as firewood which also leads to deforestation. Our fuel neither produces smoke nor soot, doesn’t emit carbon monoxide and produces carbon dioxide in extremely low levels. This is good not only good for health but also for the environment.
Which areas are you currently targeting the most with your fuel? Well, as at now our main target are the informal settlements where the use of dirty fuel is rampant because of a number of factors such as the cost of accessing cleaner forms of energy. Our 6
first prototype selling point for instance will be Kibera.
How are you going to do this?
We are going to work with waste collection companies where we are going to get the used diapers from consolidated areas. We also want to incentivize communities living in such areas by enabling them access the fuel at discounted prices if they adhere to proper disposal practices.
What lesson do you carry from the ClimateLaunchpad?
Through our journey from the national finals to the regional finals and finally to the global final, we drew important lesKenya Climate Innovation Center
Leafy Ke with a team from KCIC after winning the global award sons in developing sustainable businesses. CLP is indeed an acceleration point for green startups. We’ve been mentored on how to fashion business ideas taking into account the economic, environmental as well as the social impact such ideas may have. This is key lesson given that we didn’t have it in mind before. It has also given us an opportunity to network at the national, regional and at the global level as well.
Your next steps…
With the grant we’ve gotten, we want to scale our prototype by reaching out to more people. We also hope to attract more funds that would enable us establish a well-functioning firm and get
into full-scale production.
As a young person, what would you tell other young people with regard to innovation, job creation and their role in addressing socioeconomic and environmental challenges?
I would advise other young people with great ideas to look out for opportunities like the one we got at KCIC that has enabled us shine at the global stage. I advise the youth not to go for quick fixes or cheaper options. The passion that drives ideas must be propelled and we should know that no idea is limited. Do the right thing with sustainability in mind and money will follow. It is us to propel the attainment of the SDGs. 7
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Rice farmers in Mwea disperse Safi Organic fertiliser in their fields
The ripe fruits of waste management; how Safi Organics uses waste to produce organic fertiliser
By Solomon Irungu
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ost fertilizers today are produced in large-scale, centralized, and capital-intensive facilities, mostly located abroad, and then shipped via long-distance transport to the emerging markets. As a result of this logistical and import mark-up, rural farmers often pay more than double the world price for their fertilizers. Due to their limited income, these farmers can often only afford the cheapest, synthetic, one-size-fits-all varieties that over the long term may actually acidify and degrade their soil due to over-dependence. Farmers, as a result, often have seen their post-harvest yields decrease by up to 30-40% in the last 20 years. This is a significant concern for local food security. In a country such as Kenya, Safi Organics estimates that there are about four million farmers who spend about $76 million/year on ineffective fertilizers. In the world, by 2030, this will be a $30 billion/year Kenya Climate Innovation Center
problem. The highlighted challenge is what is close to Safi Organic’s heart. Safi Organics use a modern technology to decentralize/downsize fertilizer production, such that it can be carried out profitably on a village-level scale using locally available waste materials. Imagine small-scale, low-cost, mobile systems that can be latched onto the back of tractors, donkey carts, or shipping containers, and be moved from farm to farm to enable localized conversion of agricultural residues into a fertilizer base under two hours without needing external energy input. The base, made from waste products, is mixed with Safi Organics proprietary recipes to complete the nutrient as standalone fertilizer application. Their process drastically reduces the long-distance logistics needed to deliver high-quality fertilizers to farmers by producing the bulk locally by gathering the waste from the same farmers who use the fertilizer. Safi Organics branded and carbon-negative product, Safi Sarvi, improves farmers’ harvest yield and income by up to 30% for the same cost that they pay for
fertilizer inputs. The primary beneficiaries of Safi Organics are smallholder farmers. Multiple households farming rice in Kirinyaga County and other parts of Kenya have adopted the fertisilzer saying that it is increasing their yields. For them, the Safi Sarvi fertilizer not only restores their soil health, but also leads to better economic outcomes. Moreover, because our fertilizer is rich in inert carbon, when one ton of it is applied to the soil, it also effectively sequesters 1.7 tons of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) equivalent from the atmosphere for hundreds of years. Thus, the larger Safi Organics scale, the more profitable Safi Organics become and also the more carbon Safi Organics also sequesters. The ability of Safi Organics to effectively manage agricultural residues without letting it burn in the open and instead recycling it also benefits the local communities and nearby cities from reduced air pollution. By 2021 Safi Organics endeavors to sequester 6,000 tons of CO2 and manage 4,000 tons of waste.
A step in the production of Safi Organics fertiliser 9
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Thika firm converts waste plastic into synthetic oil
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Of the plastic waste, seven percent of it is plastic bags. This poses difficult issues for urban communities where waste management is a key problem especially because most of this waste is non-biodegradable and also ends up blocking Solomon Irungu water bodies.
eep in the heart of Thika Town, a constituency that has been christened by many as the Birmingham of the region, lies Alternative Energy Systems Limited (AESL), a company that has come in to address the challenge of waste management. AESL collects, cleans and recycles waste plastic into synthetic oil that offers an alternative replacement of the highly pollutant industrial diesel. Waste management in the country is problem with landfill technology being the mostly used innovation. In the periphery of Thika Town also lies the Kang’oki Landfill Dumpsite, a project by the County Government of Kiambu. AESL is making use of this project by employing local communities to collect the waste and deliver it to the company. “We have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the County Government of Kiambu where we have contracted Community Based Organisations (CBOs) to supply us with the lowest cadre of waste plastic namely sacks and paper bags,” Rajish Kent the CEO of the company says. “In total we have managed to create more than 700 jobs.”
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Comprehensively, waste is at the most elevated level, yet specialists contend that it will continue being on increment. Estimates indicate that globally every human generates half a kilo of mixed waste, 11 percent of which is plastic waste.
“Plastics are the most difficult to manage, not only in Kenya but also in developed countries,” Sanjive Sachdev, one of the managers of the company says. “We acknowledge that certain grades of plastics can actually not be recycled and therefore end up filling landfills; But here at (AESL) we are working on addressing part of this menace by recycling all plastics besides those with Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and Precision Thermoplastic Components (PTC) elements.
“...waste is at the
most elevated level, yet specialists contend that... Kenya has more than 60 years reserve of historical plastics. This notwithstanding, the dumping of plastics continues to increase as the use of plastics is inevitable. Collecting these plastics is a also a challenge since some of the plastics are already buried deep in the ground and have been contaminated. “Currently we have a team of 60 employees Kenya Climate Innovation Center
Part of plastics waste awaiting recycling by AESL
involved in different parts of the production process including washing and drying the plastics, decontaminating as well as the production of the final synthetic oil,” Sanjmi Kent who also works with the firm says. “We work on efficiency by sun drying the plastics and using part of the oil we produce to run our machines.” Alternative Energy Systems Limited (AESL) is utilizing a technology called Pyrolysis. It has been tried and tested in other regions of the world. Through the technology, the company is able to process 12 tonnes of plastics per day. Their impact is threefold: Reducing plastic pollution, generating employment and producing an alternative source of fuel that has zero Sulphur and Chlorine and is smokeless, thus is not a pollutant.
Quick Figures: 0.5 Kilos
Amount of mixed waste produced per household globally
11%
Percentage of which is mixed plastics
7%
Percentage of which is plastic bags 11
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Pictorial
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1. Excited youth after an SDGs bootcamp at Strathmore University 2. Farmers in Bomet County producing organic fertiliser from waste products 3. Lentera Africa, KCIC Client, displays his Crenov8 Agriculture Challenge award 4. Botanic Treasures Ltd co-founder Elizabeth during an exhibition 5. KCIC CEO showcases clients products at the 2020 Trade for Sustainable Development (T4SD) Forum in Geneva 6. Hephzibah International, a KCIC client, showcases his products to a visiting Danish delegation 8. Ongoing ClimateLaunchPad bootcamp session at KCIC offices 9. Some of the opuntia products by Laikipia Permaculture Center, another KCIC client 10. Nebule Women, a group working in climate adaptation with one of KCIC clients 11. One of the five-million capacity water ponds by Maji Agri, a KCIC client 12. An industrial boiler running on biomass briquettes produced by Lean Energy, a KCIC client
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Waste sorting bins; ideal for use in public places
Sustainable waste management equals better quality of life
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ny Kenyan who undoubtedly is an avid lover of business has come across the ‘waste management’ phrase in their lifetime at one point or another. Any Kenyan must also have seen the three different colored bins just hanging around collecting different types of trash in the city, or at least spotted them in the environmental topics in science class, or better still in the internet.
You may have probably even stopped to acquaint yourself with which bin was the proper one to dispose your container that carried freshly blended fruit juice. The more recent example, however, would be when our most beloved plastic paper bags were finally kicked out of By Kevin Oscar the system and replaced with the color-
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ments to make the most intriguing trinkets, can also be beneficial in providing energy sources. In the pre-sorting phase of waste material, where it is separated into recyclable and non-recyclable waste, the non-recyclable waste can be turned into energy. The process, which is called waste-to-energy is the process of converting non-recyclable waste materials into usable energy sources such as fuel, heat or electricity. Minimization methods of waste management can only account for little of the impact of waste management that is felt. The main advantage of sustainable waste management is to protect the environment by lessening the impact of waste on the environment by improving air and water quality and contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Coming up with a holistic view of how it is a combined effort and beneficial to everyone is the key to making it more effective.
ful non-woven/woven carrier bags we have today, making it a huge step for the country in taking her place in ensuring proper waste management. When we think about waste management, ideally the 3Rs rule is what may come to memory easily; Re-use, Reduce and Recycle with most prevalence being put into recycling and rightly so because it goes a long way in showing us how we can use our trash and turn it into treasure. At the very core of its meaning, recycling involves the reprocessing of already used materials like wood, plastics and metals and turning them into new products. Recycled waste, while having a new artistic side that has appealed to various people who go to search for various ele-
Economically, waste management has a big economic potential that needs to be leveraged by public and private entities. It involves collecting, sorting, treating, recycling and in some cases, when properly managed, can be harnessed into energy. Socially, effective waste management leads to better quality of life for local inhabitants of any area. Where waste is properly disposed of and managed, it guarantees improved health conditions, not to mention educating people on the basic benefits people get to enjoy when they have a waste-free and properly managed waste area. Proper education would go a long way to helping people avoid health related risks and would certainly help cut down on the cost implications and trips to the doctor. 15
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Technological trends in waste management
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n the precepts of waste hierarchy, most preferred waste management approach is minimization. Alternatively, as an option to where waste can not be prevented, there should be measures put in place for material and energy recovery as well as remanufacturing and recycling. The global waste volume is however increasing thus adding to a host of complexities in waste management.
The intricacies include mounting environmental regulations spanning from total bans on some consumer products By Arnold Muthanga such as plastic carrier bags into tightening waste export environment. Secondly
A modern waste recycling equipment at AESL
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are recycling challenges and technological changes. Nonetheless, waste recycling offers lucrative tradeoff between waste and substantial resource savings with the dividends of job creation. To enhance recycling, there are concerted multiagency efforts to develop and implement integrated solid waste management systems. Though to catch up with ever sprawling GDP that translates into churning out more waste, waste management stakeholders need be aware of upcoming technological advances that can bring in the much-needed efficiency. Waste management, mostly in developing economies is overly labor intensive with a myriad of logistics, less returns to small scale operators and is largely under the control of the informal sector. Surging worldwide energy consumption is diminishing the global fossil fuel reserves at unprecedent rates. Scientists are looking for alternatives with renewable sources of energy that are touted to be clean and sustainable. Amazingly, a good chunk of global waste is organic waste. The latter can be converted into energy through anaerobic digestion (oxygen depleted decomposition) where it is broken down by tiny living organisms to produce gas and fertilizer as by the products. Notably, the technology needs cost reductions for economic suitability. For now, it is a waste question with a fuel answer.
the Japanese Unicharm is turning adult diapers into electricity through a microbial fuel cell process. The four approaches are a clear diversion from conventional thermal based technologies into biological approaches. Arguably, the most awaited breakthrough in waste management is automation of the waste collection and sorting processes. Currently, there are minor advances in loading waste collecting trucks though skips. Much however is in the horizon in frequency of pick up times, transfer stations and transportation. Lastly, is the app trend. Mobile applications have been developed to alert consumers to buy food in restaurants that are almost to their expiry. Also, there are applications designed to manage skips. Innovative technologies are essential in reducing the needless pickups, cutting costs, making recycling easier and helping waste handlers to keep up with stringent contamination requirements. Waste players have a whole technological playground to shake up a lackluster waste industry.
Similar to anaerobic waste recovery approach are enzyme/bacteria-based solutions. In America, LanzaTech has reported being able to convert carbon laden waste into biofuels through gas fermentation. Novozymes in Dutch has commercialized Eversa, an enzyme-based solution that transforms low grade cooking oils into biodiesel. Also, 17
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Meet the 2019 Top CEO Communicator who preaches sustainability By Vivian Kwame and Solomon Irungu
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dward Mungai, the CEO of Kenya Climate Innovation Centre, appeared in the dailies at the opening of this year having been voted among the best communicators of the just concluded year. This adds to his accolades of being the founder of Inspire Leadership that focuses on unlocking people’s potential by providing them with real-life tested tools meant to make their lives better; a top 40 under 40; a Certified Scrum Master and an Eisenhower Fellow. He has an all-round background in Business Advisory, Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Investment management.
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dward swings on his swivel on an early Monday morning probably cogitating the year’s line of action of the company he leads, Kenya Climate Innovation Center (KCIC). He has a keen eye on sustainable development and the role of the private sector as a driver for sustainable development in Africa. The company which has been supporting start-ups, small to medium level enterprises in agribusiness, water management and renewable energy has now adopted two more sectors to include waste management and commercial forestry. Asked why the support on waste management, Edward says that waste can be metamorphosized into something more valuable. “You can imagine that over 80% of the Kenya population has no sewerage connections or proper solid waste disposal mechanisms,” he says. “Yet this can be converted into valuables like energy and other products for domestic use; that what we wish to empower as KCIC.” On waste management, KCIC has invited applications from enterprises that come up with innovations and technologies in recycling and disposal of different forms of waste products. In this sector the organization will be looking for innovative business ideas that cut through the whole aspect of waste management which includes generation, storage, collection, transfer and transport, processing and disposal of both solid and liquid waste. The organization has highlighted possible models that could include: Practical segregation at source through waste separation; practical ways that reduce waste toxicity; upcycling waste materials to reusable products; recycling waste into reusable products; converting waste to energy; focusing on
economic ways of composting waste and reducing waste generation. “We hope to make a turn-around in the fied of waste management by creating value where some may have not imagined,” Edward says. “As such we shall empower as many innovations in waste management as possible to make this possible.” Edward is also a six-star world major marathoner where he runs the Edward Mungai Fitness. He is a motivational speaker and has shared his thoughts on numerous platforms including ClimateLaunchPad, One Planet Summit and Danish Delegation. He also takes advantage of his social media platforms where he shares trendy issues and news on what goes on around the world on matters related to sustainability. He occasionally writes for Business Daily and blogs for www.africasustainabilitymatters.com where he has proliferated much information on multiple fields besides waste management. His work, ideas and knowledge in the sustainability world has definitely earned him the title “Sustainability Evangelist”.
SUBSCRIBE www.edwardmungai.com
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Exposure to noxious asbestos needs to be alleviated with care
ingestion of asbestos dust. Asbestos dirt is minute for naked eye visibility without any smell or odor making it highly elusive. It is worth noting, occupying a building built of asbestos does not necessarily present a health risk. As a take away from the Center for Disease Control, the most likely method of exposure is through renovation and routine maintenance.
Conditions that have been attributed to asbestos on little exposure include cancer, scarring and inflammation with degenerate conditions like asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. The risk factors are dependent on health history, amount exposed, frequency of contact By Arnold Muthanga and the type of asbestos fibers. Govand Solomon Irungu ernments across the world introduced bans, phase out or stringent regulations of asbestos production and end use. he construction industry especially in Africa has witnessed sporadic evolution, from grass thatched huts According to the Legal Notice No. 121 of the Environmental Management and of the twentieth century to the Coordination (Waste Management) modern spectacular mirrored skyscrapRegulations 2006 of Kenya, waste coners. Part of the progress was marked by taining asbestos is classified as haza reign of fibrous materials that had a ardous waste. In addition, the Legal perfect combination of preference atNotice requires that hazardous waste tributes. Known as asbestos. They stood be disposed in a specified manner as out as fire resistant materials that were durable and with astounding stability to approved by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA). chemicals, heat, steam and rust.
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They become an ideal building material gaining prominence in the 80’s and 70’s. Commonly found in nature, asbestos was used to enhance the strength of concrete, floor tiles, wall boards, pipes, acoustical plaster and as an ingredient of spring mixture on ceilings and walls. Today asbestos roofing is a common scene in schools, hospitals, residential and public old buildings mostly built before 2000. More so as any other household and workplace appliance such as pipe insulation. However, the widespread application has come at a cost of more than 5,000 deaths every year due to inhalation or 20
However, there are plenty still in place across Kenya and East Africa. This is probably because there are only a few people in Kenya have the technical knowhow of handling the asbestos as well as disposing it through the complex procedures that must be inspected by NEMA. Among them is Greenrock Ventures, a NEMA licensed asbestos management and Abatement Company in Kenya registered both as a handler and transporter. Greenrock works together as a group to create a healthier and safe environment in line with specifications and EMCA waste management Regulation Kenya Climate Innovation Center
2006. Contact with damaged asbestos containing materials (ACM) that allow mobility of asbestos particles should be avoided. Persons with high risk of occupational asbestos exposure like construction and demolition workers, firefighters, electricians among others need proper awareness on protective ware when on their tasks.
Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for removal, handling and disposal of asbestos must be done by National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) accredited lead expert or firm of experts before commencing the work and License issued by NEMA that will specify safe conditions for removal, handling and disposal of asbestos.
Home owners have alternatives of encapsulating asbestos materials as their removal by unprofessional persons pose greater risks of contamination. That said, people using asbestos in their buildings lack the technical knowhow of how to handle and dispose these noxious materials. As required by Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMCA) Cap 370 as well as Environment Management and Coordination (Waste Management Regulations, 2006) and National Guidelines on Safe Management and Disposal of Asbestos, a comprehensive Environmental and
Initiatives like the recently launched Kenya Climate Innovation Center strategy that will be supporting among others, innovations in waste management, will hopefully develop more enterprises that can handle the removal and disposal of these hazardous materials. More research also needs to be done on the best methods of forestalling the health effects of asbestos exposure. A redacted version of this article was first published by Sunday Standard on 2nd November, 2019
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Escon Leather co-founder during a pitching session
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From waste hides and skins to beautiful leather products, Escon’s story
We
By Vincent Ogaya
all know adore leather items, don’t we? Well, that is as far is it goes because for most of us, we do not give a thought to how the beautiful leather products are made. The leather comes from hides and skins; again that is far is it goes. Knowing whether the hides and skins were of low quality is not really our worry. Ours is to have the perfect item that we can afford on the retail shelves. One startup in Machakos manages discarded low-grade hides and skins to produce leather items through vegetable tanning process that is environmentally friendly. Escon Leather Creations gets the raw skins from slaughterhouses, butcheries and from hides and skins traders. Ordinarily, the low-grade hides and skins would be decarded into the environment where they would rot and act as pollutants.
“Kenya produces 4 million goat and sheep skins annually, 4% of the produced skins are disposed at home. And this is where we step in by turning second and third grade skins into a resource using vegetable tanning processes and dyes,” says Victor Nzau, founder of Escon Leather Creations. The enterprise has currently created a market for forty farmers who supply it with the raw materials. Their products which include handbags, belts and sandals are targeted at the modern woman. The strength of this business is its ability to produce in small batches and as per the market demands.
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...the low-grade hides and skins would be decarded into the environment where they would rot and act as pollutants. Escon Leather creations hopes to establish a cottage industry in future where they would manufacture, train and offer incubation facilities for women and youth groups. They understand that this category of people are often marginalized when it comes to access to job opportunities. The enterprise has participated in a number of competitions, the most recent being the ClimateLaunchpad where it came third at the Kenya National Finals and was among the top eight finalists at the Africa Regional Finals.
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A publication of Kenya Climate Innovation Center. Strathmore Business School Building, 3rd Floor, Ole Sangale Road, Madaraka, PO Box 49162 – 00200, Nairobi, Kenya. (+254) 703 034 701 I www.kenyacic.org communication@kenyacic.org
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