(Business in Cameroon) - Since July 2014, date at which the activities of the start-up Kemit Ecology were launched by young Cameroonian entrepreneurs, households in Douala, the economic capital of the country, have access to ecologic coal resulting from the processing of vegetal waste collected from markets and households.

Indeed, by scouring the markets and some areas of the economic capital on a tricycle, the developers of Kemit Ecology collect various wastes, which are “first dried at 150˚C, then reduced to ashes in an oven. The black ashes thus obtained are mixed with water and a material made from kaolin clay, in order to get some type of coal pieces, which will be packaged and sold in bags of 1 to 40 kg”, AFP described in a spot focusing on this green economy project.

Thanks to this process, the start-up produces up to one ton of ecologic coal per month. This production capacity, according to the promoters of Kemit Ecology, could however be scaled up to 20 tons per month, provided that the company finds funding which will enable it to increase its activity level.

Cheaper and two times less polluting than charcoal, the product from Kemit Ecology works well to preserve the environment, by avoiding the destruction of the Douala mangrove. Indeed, it is in this mangrove that charcoal producers procure the necessary raw material for the production of the 90 tons of charcoal consumed every month by the inhabitants of Douala.

As a reminder, despite the breakthrough of domestic gas and to a lesser extent, electric ovens, charcoal remains the main source of energy for households in Cameroon because of its relatively affordable price. The use of this source of energy is even more important in the northern part of the country and the rural areas of Cameroon.

In order to lower the harmful impact of the charcoal production on the environment, the government is currently discussing with Canadian partners, with the view to set up a ecologic coal production plant in Cameroon. If this project comes to fruition, the new industrial unit will be competing with Kemit Ecology, a local start-up seeking funding, and which despite its limited resources, has already started producing and marketing coal since July 2014 to protect the environment.

BRM