On the 5th of April, Africa In Motion is collaborating with Engineers Without Borders on a new design challenge. Engineers work in teams
on life changing solutions for real problems that poor communities face.
One of the challenges is introduced by Africa In Motion. An innovative Rwandan start-up likes to explore the ways of using banana by-products for giving life to new products. Supporting these small local banana farmers by valorizing their agricultural waste will empower these communities.
Background
The Lake Victoria Basin in which Rwanda is located produces over 14 billion tons of bananas annually and most of the crop (1/3) is wasted.
Generally, banana by-products include the pseudostem, leaves, inflorescence, fruit stalk (floral stalk/rachis), rhizome and peels. Most of these by-products may serve as an undervalued commodity with a limited commercial value, application and in some cases, it is considered as an agricultural waste.
Challenge
Knowing that paper production is one of the commercial applications of banana by-products, an innovative Rwandan start-up likes to explore the ways of using Banana Stem for the production of paper and boards.
If you want to know more about the challenges and about tickets, go to the website of EWB.
