Environmentally friendly cooking briquettes
Gichuki Wa Nuthu
Thika, Kenya
25% paid forward
Entrepreneur
Name
Gichuki Wa Nuthu
Member since
June 2020
On-time repayments
98 installments • 100%
About Me
My Name is Gichuki Nuthu from Kiambu county, Kenya. I reside in Thika sub county near the county's largest dumpsite Kang'oki. When I bought a piece of land here 5 years ago, my plan was to ascertain how I can benefit from waste dumped without raising conflict with the community around who scavenged for valuable in the dumpsite. The valuables include but not limited to plastics, metal cans, nylon bags for recycling and stale food which are fed to dogs and pigs.
Only a few, if any, were interested with bio garbage from markets, residential and business areas.
I am Certified Public Accountant of Kenya and with my background in management accountancy and finance, I ventured into recycle of this matter to clean the environment, avail affordable source of fuel to neighbours and create employment.
My Business
In the year 2018, I ventured in recycling of this bio waste matter including sawdust from sawmills and timberyards, charcoal dust from yards.
Towards this, I engaged a local technician who calibrated a local briquette machine which currently produce 6 -25kg bags a day. We sell at kenya shillings 30.00 a kilo.
These products have ready market in the neighborhood where clients use briquettes in their homes for cooking, others use for warming up their chicken broods. Thika sub county has many chicken rearing farmers. There is also the nearby Nairobi city, Kenya's capital where a sizable population still depends on charcoal as fuel and we have introduced our briquettes as a substitute to save forest and environment.
We also use some in our kitchen. This has reduced our domestic budget substantially.
We have created employment whereby,currently we have one employee. We hope to employ more in near future after upgrading our briquettes machine as the current one has reached maximum production and it level of efficiency is not satisfactory.
We also utilise the excess space for chicken rearing. In the last festive season we managed to make sales ok kshs 50,000. There are also 20 hens that remained for egg production. We hope to expand the the project in preparation for upcoming Easter festivities in April 2022. We plan add 40 - 3week old chicken and rare for 3 months when they will be ready for the market.
Project Proposal
When I bought this land about ,5 years ago, it had 6 single rooms. I occupied 3 rooms with my family. The other rooms have various uses one if them being factory of the briquettes. It's iron sheets are old and rusty . I am planning to modernise by replacing the roof and plastering it. It will become hospitable. Iron sheets will cost around 20,000, timber 10,000 sand 16,000 cement 10,000, electric installation 10,000 ,labour 15,000
miscellenious fittings 8,000
My Videos
Jan 9, 2021: Briquettes and chicken rearing in thika kenya
Feedback
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Project Info
Project Type
Pay It Forward
Disbursed amount
$780.35
Date disbursed
Feb 18, 2022
Cost to entrepreneur
Service fee: $124.04
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Adam Shipp Jun 26, 2021
Erik G Jan 15, 2021
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