The Kubeko composter and biodigester are both specifically designed to ferment agricultural post-harvest by-products. Biowaste represents two to five times the quantity of crops or produce sold, amounting to 30 million tonnes of waste disposed of annually in Côte d’Ivoire. Chemical engineer Noël N’guessan believes that by using this waste, Kubeko can help Ivorians generate extra income, dramatically improving the lives of thousands of farmers and their families.
The biodigester transforms green waste, liquid and solid, into cooking gas and liquid compost. Approximately five kilograms of daily solid waste provides two hours’ worth of cooking gas, and 50 litres of liquid compost.
The composter is fed and aerated daily for 15 days, and produces 150 kg of compost from 400 kg of biowaste each month. The equipment’s aeration can be configured to run on an energy grid or on solar power.
N'guessan and his team designed and patented Kubeko to assist smallholder farmers and their cooperatives to generate more income from the by-products of their harvests, without any additional labour. Fifty composters have been installed to date in cocoa, palm oil and mango farms.
Since being shortlisted for the Africa Prize, the Kubeko team has made progress in reducing its production costs from US$800 to US$700, making their products affordable. The team has installed two biodigesters running on cassava farms, with 50 composters installed to date on cocoa, palm oil and mango farms.
It has also been commissioned by the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development in Côte d'Ivoire to train stakeholders on the use of Kubeko, as part of the department’s national composting and biowaste strategy.
“Within the next five years, we aim to reach 10% of the 2 million smallholder farmers in Côte d’Ivoire that are facing decreasing yields and stronger market demand for sustainably produced crops.”
Noel N'guessan, Kubeko
