Ecovon project building materials, Ghana

Project name: Ecovon

Project location: Ghana

Project description:

Ecovon believe that there is a better way of making building materials. That is why we are focusing our energy on completely rethinking and re-designing how the new generation of building materials is made. Ecovon are developing sustainably sourced, newly engineered wood made from coconut husk and sugar cane bagasse, supplying the global market with a formaldehyde-free bio-based wood alternative that are better for people and planet.

Goal and purpose of the project:

To establish the technical and financial/economic parameters for a cost-effective, non-polluting production of high quality coir fibre and bagasse board as the basis of the presently not (or under) utilized coir fibre and bagasse, without the use of additional chemical binders. To relieves pressure off of tropical forests and reduce deforestation To ensure waste management by adding value to the coconut husk and bagasse to produce particleboard and fibreboard To help generate wealth and jobs in rural areas of Ghana To help reduce pollution on global scale To turn waste in to wealth

Motivation of the applicant / applicant team

The annual world consumption of timber is in the order of 300 million tons which depicts that there is pressure on the tropical forests leading to environmental de-stabilization and global warming. Predominantly, all the construction and building materials such as particle boards and others are made from wood which aggravate the world dependence on timber which leads to deterioration of forest in Ghana and Africa at large. World annual deforestation is estimated as 13.7 million hectares a year, equal to the area of Greece. Africa is suffering deforestation at twice the world rate, according to United Nations Environment Programme

Use of prize money

The money will be used to acquire the equipment for production.