After finding out that a mudslide which killed his family in 2017 was partly caused by deforestation and poor waste management, a young man in Freetown, Sierra Leone was inspired to tackle the problem – especially the use of plastic, and tree-felling – and is now running a business selling eco-friendly alternatives to plastic bags and charcoal.
Alhaji Siraj Bah initially dedicated nearly every waking hour to producing recyclable bags, made from 70% banana leaves, which he sold to local businesses with their logos hand-screen-printed onto them. “We need to start recycling everything that we use,” he explains, noting that while other African countries – including Morocco, Rwanda and Kenya – have begun to take action by, for example, banning plastic bags, Sierra Leone has yet to do so.
A few years on, and 250,000 environmentally friendly bags later, and Bah’s 38-strong company has expanded its operations to producing a sustainable alternative to charcoal (felling trees for which is a major contributor to deforestation and land degradation in the country, and the burning of which is polluting to the atmosphere and in households a danger to public health). Bah’s smoke-free briquettes are made from coconut shells, sugar cane, rice husk and palm kernel waste from farmers; bound with starch, they actually burn for longer than wood and coal (he learnt the manufacturing process from YouTube videos).
After winning the Anzisha Prize for young African entrepreneurs, Bah has raised $20,000 from an angel investor, which he plans to use to buy more efficient machines for faster briquette production. He also intends to expand into Guinea, Senegal and Liberia in 2020, spreading the message that the tree-saving briquettes are better for both the environment and the public.
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After finding out that a mudslide which killed his family in 2017 was partly caused by deforestation and poor waste management, a young man in Freetown, Sierra Leone was inspired to tackle the problem – especially the use of plastic, and tree-felling – and is now running a business selling eco-friendly alternatives to plastic bags and charcoal.
Alhaji Siraj Bah initially dedicated nearly every waking hour to producing recyclable bags, made from 70% banana leaves, which he sold to local businesses with their logos hand-screen-printed onto them. “We need to start recycling everything that we use,” he explains, noting that while other African countries – including Morocco, Rwanda and Kenya – have begun to take action by, for example, banning plastic bags, Sierra Leone has yet to do so.
A few years on, and 250,000 environmentally friendly bags later, and Bah’s 38-strong company has expanded its operations to producing a sustainable alternative to charcoal (felling trees for which is a major contributor to deforestation and land degradation in the country, and the burning of which is polluting to the atmosphere and in households a danger to public health). Bah’s smoke-free briquettes are made from coconut shells, sugar cane, rice husk and palm kernel waste from farmers; bound with starch, they actually burn for longer than wood and coal (he learnt the manufacturing process from YouTube videos).
After winning the Anzisha Prize for young African entrepreneurs, Bah has raised $20,000 from an angel investor, which he plans to use to buy more efficient machines for faster briquette production. He also intends to expand into Guinea, Senegal and Liberia in 2020, spreading the message that the tree-saving briquettes are better for both the environment and the public.