Benin entrepreneur harnesses biowaste to power homes, farms
Transcript
00:00 This food waste is going to be transformed into fuel
00:05 that can once again be used to cook or even heat this home.
00:10 It's thanks to a local firm in Benin that's transforming everyday bio-waste
00:15 into a powerful energy source.
00:18 Enoch Ganega is the founder of Benin Biogas.
00:24 His team is revolutionizing how hundreds of homes
00:27 and more than a dozen farms manage waste and energy.
00:31 On this farm, all the waste from livestock and processing
00:37 will be recovered as gas products.
00:40 And the logic of being able to power the ovens,
00:44 the whisks for the ovens, the cooking, the toasting,
00:48 would also produce electricity.
00:53 Benin Biogas has built networks of concrete tanks
00:57 beneath neighborhoods and industrial zones.
01:00 They act as reactors, transforming organic waste into biogas,
01:05 a methane-rich energy source that now provides fuel for over 560 households.
01:11 Ganega says he was inspired as a student.
01:14 He watched one day as a candle inadvertently fell into his food waste bin.
01:19 When it caught fire, I thought, "What is this?"
01:22 I became interested in this by discussing with my environmental chemistry professor.
01:26 That's where he told me it was OK. It's biogas.
01:30 The company is even able to provide 24-hour off-grid electricity in some areas
01:36 and convert the compost waste into high-quality fertilizer,
01:41 supporting local agriculture and reducing farmers' reliance
01:44 on imported, expensive and potentially damaging alternatives.
01:49 Ganega says he knows it's not the total end to fossil fuels.
01:53 But in a world grappling with climate change
01:55 and the search for sustainable energy solutions,
01:58 he hopes his complete waste-to-energy cycle will usher in a renewed dedication
02:02 to environmental stewardship in Benin.