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- Sanitation entrepreneurs making business out of Faecal sludge_ Briquette Making
Sanitation entrepreneurs making business out of Faecal sludge_ Briquette Making
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- Chaiwe
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- Innovation enthusiast and Knowledge Management Expert in WASH and Climate Change while cross-cutting Youth and Gender Issues. CEO of CaDev_Capacity Development (An African Social Enterprise)
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Re: Sanitation entrepreneurs making business out of Faecal sludge_ Briquette Making
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Looking back at this discussion and based on my own personal research on the subject, I would like to revisit the conversation surrounding the valorisation of FS as an energy source through Briquette making.
I searched through the internet and also most importantly through resources published in the SuSanA library on how small businesses can produce Briquettes from FS. There isn't much in the sense of capacitating communities to take up this initiative as a business. Also lacking is a step-by-step manual on how Briquettes can be produced from FS with basic environmentally and locally sourced additive ingredients (I particularly did not like the idea of charcoal dust as an additive as it defeats the purpose of what we aim to achieve in terms of alternative environmentally friendly options. What are the alternatives in this regard?).
Here are some of the resources I come across in my SuSanA search :
1. Financial Analysis of Briquette Businesses in Kampala, Uganda: CEWAS - Financial Analysis of Briquette Businesses in Kampala (susana.org)
2. Resource Value Mapping (REVAMP): A tool for evaluating the resource recovery potential of urban waste streams: 3-2638-7-1474632188.pdf (susana.org)
3. Marketing of Faecal Sludge Valorisation Products PowerPoint Presentation (susana.org)
Can anyone point me to other resources, publications, initiatives and interventions that are promoting briquette production from FS at a small scale/ community level?
Kind Regards,
Chaiwe
Skat Foundation (With financial support by GIZ and SIRWASH up to November 2023)
Chaiwe Mushauko-Sanderse BSc. NRM, MPH
Independent consultant located in Lusaka, Zambia
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You need to login to reply- Chaiwe
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Re: Sanitation entrepreneurs making business out of Faecal sludge
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Great to follow this discussion. More and more the sanitation sector is becoming an attractive sector for entrepreneurs. In relation to faecal sludge (FS), the options are numerous and swipe across the full sanitation service chain. This thread seems to be weighing more on the end-use of sludge post-treatment or the resource recovery aspects of FS.
I would like to point you to this publication from Kampala that talks about what Kampala has focused on in the area of resource recovery. Kampala, is in many ways similar to Lusaka, mainly looking at the use of treated FS as a soil conditioner with briquette making and bio-gas coming in secondary to this, this is mainly because it is already quite lucrative to sell the treated sludge as is. A market for FS as a soil conditioner is readily available, however, issues of lack of standards on the end product have not fully been addressed yet.
See here: www.susana.org/_resources/documents/defa...573-7-1464883011.pdf
EXTRACT:
Countries like Kenya have also looked at resource recovery through the production of black soldier fly larvae from FS, a viable protein source for animal feed.Treated sludge from the NWSC treatment plants at Lubigi and Bugolobi isused as a soil conditioner and organic fertilizer and also as a fill material. On average, the sludge from the drying beds costs about USD10/tonne. Small scale florists, foresters, gardeners, briquette manufacturers and livestock farmers are some of the major users of wastewater sludge in Kampala (NETWAS, 2011).
See here: www.reuters.com/article/us-kenya-insects...l-feed-idUSKCN1TI1BN
EXTRACT
Regards,NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan farmer Victor Kyalo’s chickens have doubled the number of eggs they are laying. The reason: Human excrement.He is feeding them food from a Nairobi-based organics recycling company. Sanergy harvests waste from toilets it operates in a franchise network in Nairobi’s sprawling slums and feeds it to fly larvae, which become high-quality animal feed.
Chaiwe
Skat Foundation (With financial support by GIZ and SIRWASH up to November 2023)
Chaiwe Mushauko-Sanderse BSc. NRM, MPH
Independent consultant located in Lusaka, Zambia
Emails: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chaiwe-mushauko-sanderse-21709129/
Twitter: @ChaiweSanderse
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You need to login to reply- PrinceK
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- I am a development professional involved in planning, implementing and monitoring of WASH development work programs at all stages of the project management cycle.
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Re: Sanitation entrepreneurs making business out of Faecal sludge
Thank you so much for sharing the insightful article. I will do my part to pass on best practices to the FSM sanitation workers back in my country in order to market briquettes in a much more effective way.
Regards.
Water, Sanitation & Hygiene professional
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Lusaka, Zambia
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You need to login to reply- CharlotteM
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- Marketer by profession. Expertise in sanitation social marketing targeting behavior change and positive uptake of water and sanitation projects for sustainability and maximum impact.
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Re: Sanitation entrepreneurs making business out of Faecal sludge
Thanks for the update. Sensitization is definitely critical to be able to boost the uptake of the briquettes. In Kenya, there was a similar project done in a town called Nakuru. The uptake for the briquettes was quite slow at first. Fortunately, there was a ban on logging countrywide that made wood charcoal hard to access. Briquettes were the next best option. You can read all about it here .
All the best.
Regards
Charlotte
Water and Sanitation Consultant
M +254 (0) 723 571 463
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L: Nairobi, Kenya
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Re: Sanitation entrepreneurs making business out of Faecal sludge
For the target customers, charcoal is the main source of energy for cooking/heating. In comparison, the briquettes made from treated faecal waste are actually cheaper; it's the stigma attached to the product (it being faecal matter, despite being treated) that creates a barrier for its mass update.
Alot of sensitisation still needs to happen in most areas.
Although, where briquettes made from faecal matter are failing to push sales, some of our FsM sanitation entrepreneurs are sucessfully marketing the connection and usage of biogas, especially to restaurants in local markets.
Regards,
Prince
Water, Sanitation & Hygiene professional
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(+260) 974097173
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You need to login to reply- CharlotteM
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- Marketer by profession. Expertise in sanitation social marketing targeting behavior change and positive uptake of water and sanitation projects for sustainability and maximum impact.
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Re: Sanitation entrepreneurs making business out of Faecal sludge
Just to find out about the marketing and sale of briquettes,what is the main source of fuel that the people are currently using in your area? Are the briquettes cheaper than them? I would recommend a brief market study to understand the dynamics. This will determine the best strategy to use.
Regards
Charlotte
Water and Sanitation Consultant
M +254 (0) 723 571 463
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L: Nairobi, Kenya
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Re: Sanitation entrepreneurs making business out of Faecal sludge
It is quite inspiring looking at how those Sanitation Entrepreneurs are innovatively generating income from treated waste by products.
Back in my country (Zambia), we also have similar Sanitation entrepreneurs generating revenue at different points of the FSM value chain. However, the marketing and sale of briquettes is something that is still lagging.
Your post is quite insightful as it can shares some best practices some of our FSM Sanitation entrepreneurs can learn from.
Water, Sanitation & Hygiene professional
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(+260) 974097173
Lusaka, Zambia
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You need to login to reply- Mbirungi
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Topic Author
- Machrine Birungi is a communications professional, award winning news reporter, writer, and journalist, with a passion for telling stories that help people make informed decisions. She is currently a social media analyst at the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council in Geneva.
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Re: Sanitation entrepreneurs making business out of Faecal sludge
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Thanks for the questions
Quick response: The marketability of the briquettes has been simple in a way because it has created a circular economy. The main buyers of the briquettes are urban communities.
Both firewood and charcoal are expensive especially for the small urban business communities. Also in comparison tocharcoal, they generally burn for longer and have a more consistent heat output, which is
preferred by certain market segments such as restaurants, hospitals and schools.
Apparently, the price of a briquette is competitive to charcoal, allowing domestic users among rural populationsas well as the urban and peri-urban poor to adopt them as a replacement for charcoal.
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You need to login to reply- EMary
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- A researcher by profession. Experienced in content creation, research, training and project management and coordination in the Sanitation sector.
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I had a follow-up question regarding the acceptance of public/buyers of the briquettes within Kampala region. Were there any concerns with respect to marketing the product from public acceptability? Also are the main consumers of the product farmers?
Thank you,
Best,
Eva
Program Coordinator
Programs and Administration
Faecal Sludge Management Alliance
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You need to login to reply- Mbirungi
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Topic Author
- Machrine Birungi is a communications professional, award winning news reporter, writer, and journalist, with a passion for telling stories that help people make informed decisions. She is currently a social media analyst at the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council in Geneva.
Less- Posts: 42
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Re: Sanitation entrepreneurs making business out of Faecal sludge
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You need to login to reply- CharlotteM
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Re: Sanitation entrepreneurs making business out of Faecal sludge
Thank you for the response. The document you have attached has really been helpful. There is a service level agreement which has been written giving the different players mandate for easy operationalization. In the case of Kampala, KCCA is offering licenses and setting tariff rates whereas National Water and Sewerage Company is receiving and treating the faecal sludge.
Thank you for the insight.
Regards
Charlotte
Water and Sanitation Consultant
M +254 (0) 723 571 463
E This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
L: Nairobi, Kenya
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Topic Author
- Machrine Birungi is a communications professional, award winning news reporter, writer, and journalist, with a passion for telling stories that help people make informed decisions. She is currently a social media analyst at the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council in Geneva.
Less- Posts: 42
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Re: Sanitation entrepreneurs making business out of Faecal sludge
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Thank you for the feedback.
Clearly I would have really loved to link you up with the Fecal sludge entrepreneurs in Kampala to get a first hand story about their challenges.
In the meantime, I found this article very informative. Here is the link. bit.ly/3duWyaJ.
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- Sanitation as a business and business models
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