AKANOZE is a small-scale cassava processing unit in Kamonyi that recycles the non-utilized cassava peels, which account for approximately 30% of the weight of the tubers. Instead of rotting or being burnt, which is how they are traditionally dealth with due to their high levels of cyanide, the cassava peels are chopped, pressed to extract water, solar-dried, and finally, ground to produce flour, a process that renders the peels safe for animal consumption. This flour is sold to a gross retailer as a basis for the manufacturing of animal feed. Because animal feed is often imported to Rwanda and sold at a prohibitive price for subsistence farmers, this innovation offers an affordable local source of fiber rich animal feed.

Figure: A cooperative of women are employed on a daily basis to peel cassava.

Figure: Young men are grinding the dried cassava peels to produce flour.

MAGGOT FARM is a Black Soldier Fly (BSF) facility that upcycles green waste, brewery waste and household waste from the local community. These organic wastes are chopped finely so that they can be fed to BSF larvae. During approximately 13 to 18 days, the larvae consume the waste. When the larvae reach an appropriate sizethey are sold to fish and livestock farmers (poultry and pig) as a source of high-protein animal feed. Because animal feed is often imported to Rwanda and sold at a prohibitive price for subsistence farmers, this innovation offers an affordable, local alternative that also provides economic opportunities within the community

Figure: Employees bringing the organic waste collected from the market to a vegetable cutter machine.

Figure: The Black Soldier Fly (BSF) larvae are fed on the chopped organic waste (and brewing waste sourced from a local brewery).

COPED, solid waste management company that operates in the larger Kigali region, is piloting a program with the support of RUNRES to sort waste at the household level in the local community. Once sorted, the organic waste is transported to the COPED composting facility. Three different qualities of compost are proposed to satisfy different types of clients: from a grade 1 for gardeners (100 RWF/kg), to grade 2 for annual crop farmers (50 RWF/kg), to grade 3 for perennial crop farmers (20 RWF/kg). Even if compost is not an innovative technology per se, in this local area, sorting waste at household level is a new and needed practice to produce high quality compost.

Figure: Waste is sorted at the household level between organic (green bag) and inorganic (blue bag).

Figure: At the compost production site, men are employed to remove remaining inorganic components and to prepare and maintain the compost heaps.