Since its creation in 2005, Bio-energy Company produces charcoal from household waste to protect the environment and create jobs.-Diane Uwimana
Benjamin Bikorimana: “These can be used as a source of energy for households and other communities.”©Iwacu
Inside the compound, everybody feels rushed. Some expose the finished products of the transformed charcoal from waste collected in different households in the country in general and in Bujumbura in particular while others put the waste into the machine for grinding. 250 people are employed in Bio-energy Burundi, a Company which welcomes and supports the protection of the environment (forest) and biodiversity, reduction of emission of gas greenhouse, mitigation of global warming, creation of local jobs, reviving the local economy and protection of the population against infectious diseases (due to the use of charcoal and handcrafted-firewood products ). Benjamin Bikorimana, Chairman and Director General of Bio-energy Burundi, notes that the company contributes in the fight against deforestation and emission of gas greenhouse by producing bio-fuel briquettes. “These can be used as a source of energy for households and other communities,” explains Bikorimana. Bio-energy Burundi has manufactured fuel briquettes since 2005. There is an ecological and economic alternative to use charcoal and firewood in cooking because it helps to fight against deforestation and degradation of ecosystems through the promotion of alternative energies produced locally. These produced briquettes have more yield and efficiency than the charcoal; it is commonly known that bio-fuel briquettes are less polluting.
“Protecting the environment is everybody’s concern”
Fighting against poverty, producing renewable energy briquettes and contributing to the protection of forests in Burundi are some of Bio-energy Company’s objectives. “This will certainly reduce poverty through the creation of jobs for a number of vulnerable people,” points out the Director General. The available bio-fuel briquettes are sold at an estimated low amount of BIF 259 per Kilogram while a machine of grinding produces 500 tons per month and three tons an hour.
“For the moment, we have only the National Defense Army as a client. But next time, we hope to produce more for all Burundians. Moreover, as well as we have joined EAC, producing more is a must in order to compete with other EAC countries. In that case, consumers will have a multiple choice,” he happily emphasizes.
The briquettes required in cooking offer a renewable energy that protects the environment and preserves the timber from the forest heritage affected by the production of charcoal. It is also an opportunity to raise awareness about the protection of the environment. “It is high time we sensitized Burundians to the use of renewable energy with the main purpose of implications on food security, environment and climate change,” says Benjamin Bikorimana. It is very important to note that the raw materials for the production of briquettes are made of rice bark, sawdust etc. “We mix different materials before we start loading them into the machine,” underlines Bikorimana . Well began is half done, people say, Bio-energy Burundi has recently been prized in Business Initiative Direction delivered at Frankfurt in Germany for its good initiative, innovation and leadership this Sunday on 13th April 2014.
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