Profile of Compost Project of Libra Organic Ltd. – SEKEM Group A project in cooperation with Soil & More Egypt The first composting side close to the SEKEM Farm, began its operations in January 2007. It is located 60kg northeast of Cairo in the desert, at the border of the Nile delta, close to the city of Belbes. A second site was established close to Alexandria in March 2008. Both work with the Soil & More composting methods. The following information applies to both sites: Input Material: Organic waste such a wood, straw, coffee residues, green fresh material and manure. 200tons of such “wastes” are processed each day. Production capacity: Currently, around 60 000 tons of compost are produced annually on each site. Production will soon increase to 75 000 tons a year. Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reduction: Currently, each sire reduces GHG emissions by about 60,000 tons CO2e per year. Social Impact: Since the start of operation, 20 full-time jobs and about 60 indirect jobs were created on each site. In addition, due to the integration in the activities of the SEKEM Group, the composting sites support all social and cultural activities of the SEKEM initiative and – vice versa – the employees of the composting sites benefit from it. Local and global impact: Some of the biggest environmental problems Egypt has to face are the lack of fertile land and soil degradation due to chemical fertilizer application and inappropriate waste management. As a result of intensive agricultural practices and using huge amounts of chemical fertilizers and pest and disease control agents, most soils are degraded and heavily leached. Thus, farmers increasingly see themselves confronted with various crop diseases and continuously decreasing yields. Even though the Egyptian economy has been steadily growing for 5 years, the country’s gross domestic product remains rather low. Not all groups of the population benefit from Egypt’s economic growth, and a considerable number of people live just above the poverty level, especially in rural areas. Only 2% of Egypt’s geographical surface is arable land, but the agricultural sector remains the third largest employer in Egypt – meaning that the well-being of the majority of the population directly depends on a sustainable agricultural system. SEKEM strives to continuously improve soil fertility without exposing people and nature to chemical hazards. In doing so, the company helps to turn previously degraded soil into arable ground, thus gaining farm land. Globally, the composting sites reduce GHG emissions, thus mitigating the impacts caused by climate change.
____________________________________________________________________ Head Office: 1, Belbes Desert Road – P.O.B. 2834 El-Horrya Heliopolis – Cairo – Egypt Tel.: +20 2 26564124 Fax: +20 2 26564123 e-mail: info@sekem.com