Gebana is building a new mango and cashew processing factory in Burkina Faso that will create 1,000 new jobs and attract 4,000 more farmers as suppliers. As the processing of mangoes and cashews is very energy intensive, the energy required will be generated by burning biomass. The raw material used is cashew shells, which are heated in special ovens in a pyrolysis process. The resulting hot gases are used in a heat exchanger to produce steam and hot water for the factory. As modular pyrolysis plants of this size are not available on the market, the project will design, build and commission two customised pyrolysis plants. To achieve this, Gebana is working with local and international companies and training local specialists to build the pyrolysis furnaces.
The biochar produced by the pyrolysis process can be incorporated into the soil after being enriched with nutrients. Gebana plans to build its own composting plant or work with an existing composting company to convert mango waste and biochar into compost. Gebana will accompany the farmers as they incorporate the biochar-compost mixture into the soil and document the process.
Gebana is a Swiss pioneer in fair trade. This project can demonstrate how an environmentally and socially responsible Swiss company, with the support of the Swiss government, operates in countries in the global south.The pyrolysis plant will be built under the supervision of GenerationCarbon, a Swiss pyrolysis expert. The project will also partner with FiBL, the Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture. FiBL will provide guidance for the trials to find the right mix for the soils of the area where the smallholder farmers are located.
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