Closed-Loop System Ventures (CLSV), Cameroon

Project name: Closed-Loop System Ventures (CLSV)

Project location: Cameroon

Website: http://cls-ventures.com/index.php

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/cls.ventures/?ref=br_rs

Project description:

Closed-Loop System Ventures is a Cameroon based company that operates within the waste management and agricultural sector. Increasing industrialization and fast growth rate of most African countries and Cameroon in particular is leading to the production of large quantities of waste. Due to an inefficient collection, disposal and management system, waste generated by households, food processing industries and agricultural production processes heap up continuously provoking a dirty anaesthetic environment, water pollution, bad odours, and multiplication of flies which are serve as disease careers (malaria, typhoid, cholera, dysentery, diarrhoea etc). However, transforming the organic matter which constitutes a major proportion of the generated waste into organic fertilizer for crop production can help avoid or reduce both waste management and soil degradation challenges. Closed-loop System Ventures (CLSV) is a social enterprise that deals with the production of organic fertilizer known as HS Organic fertilizer (HS standing for healthy soils). We collect organic plant and animal wastes from various sources and transform it into organic fertilizer which is used to enhance soil fertility. We strive to promote the creation of a circular system in which waste from one production system will constitute a resource for another production system. We transform waste management challenges into an opportunity for the improvement of soil fertility. We are therefore a company that strives to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations, most especially goal number 2 to End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.

Goal and purpose of the project:

We intend to become the largest and fastest growing organic fertilizer producer in Africa by 2022, supplying our product to both the national and international markets.
Our goal is to provide a solution that will help reduce organic waste from our dumpsites while providing a valuable product that will serve the farming sector. The organic fertilizer produced has the following benefits:
It improves soil fertility without causing any harm to the environment.
It promotes the growth of healthy plants which are more resistant to pest attack and thus reducing the high cost associated with pest management.
It leads to the production of premium quality products with longer shelf life and,
It has no negative health impact on consumers thus leading to healthier lifestyles.
The purpose of this project is to promote organic farming which is a more sustainable farming practice while at the same time tackling waste management challenges.

Motivation of the applicant / applicant team:

The issue of waste management still poses enormous challenges within the African continent and Cameroon in particular. Large amounts of waste are being produced on a daily basis which ends up littering our environment or being dumped in landfills.
On the other hand, we have an agricultural sector which is characterized by highly unsustainable farming practices in a bid to improve soil fertility, increase crop yield and prevent pest attack. The excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is equally well known to cause environmental degradation, health related issues and promoting the growth of unhealthy plants.
Closed-Loop System Ventures is a social enterprise which deals with the collection of organic plant waste from various sources and its transformation into organic fertilizer.These issues motivated the desire to put in place a project which will simultaneously tackle the waste management challenges as well as promote sustainable farming practices.
Another motivation is my passion for self employment and the desire to be job provider rather than a job seeker. I believe in the potentials of youths as solution providers to many of the problems plaguing our societies today. I feel fulfilled when I identify environmental problems and contribute my own little knowledge and skills in finding lasting solutions to these problems.

Use of prize money:

The prize money will permit this project to effectively kick-start and it will enable us to acquire the necessary resources such as the pyrolyser, shredding machine, grinding machine, sieve, sealing machine, weighing machine and other required equipment for the organic fertilizer production. This will enable us to begin mass production of the organic fertilizer and to put in place a powerful marketing strategy which will make the product known all over the national territory and even abroad. Through this award, CLSV will become self sufficient and we will start having revenue streams that will ensure the sustainability of the enterprise.