Malawi urine project earmarked for world award

The expression “taking the pee” has taken on new meaning. While this colloquial term is an impolite way of indicating someone is making fun of you, This is not the case with a 58 year old man Goodfellow Phiri.

Phiri buys a 5 litre bucket of urine at the price of K300  a  20 litre bucket is bought at K1,000.

He  uses the urine to manufacture organic manure.

Phiri with funding from Global Environmental Facility (GEF) has managed to turn the project into a house hold name in the capital Lilongwe’s populous Area 25 where people are flocking to his factory to buy the liquid fertilizer manufactured from urine.

“I have not bought fertilizer for the past seven years and I harvest a lot of maize and other crops after applying this fertilizer,” said Phiri.

Phiri who has a Diploma from Bunda College says he is happy that the project is currently gaining momentum.

“Let me thank some international Non Governmental Organisation for choosing to work with me in promoting the project,”  he said.

Phiri commended Self Help Africa and Good Nebors for unwavering support towards the project.

“We are growing big and bigger each passing day in urine fertilizer and currently we have elected big tanks at Nsungwi market of 2,000 to 3,000 liters capacity and we always encourage our vendors there not to urine anywhere but in those designated places,” said Phiri.

Meanwhile, Urine for wealth project has emerged one of only 6 finalists out of 400 contenders from 60 countries in the world.

Phiri said in October, 2014, Hivos Social Innovation Award (HSIA) invited entrepreneurs from around the world to submit innovative projects for social innovation award competition.

According to Phiri, 400 projects were submitted from 60 countries including Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, India, China, Afganistan, USA and  Russia.

Phiri said Malawi submitted 5 projects to contest and these were;  Gender equality, Youth empowerment in agriculture, Biogas energy, afforestation  and the winning Urine for wealth.

He said in the preliminary round, selection was by online public voting.

Phiri said consequently, only 20 projects with most votes out of 400 contenders excelled through to semi-finals and Urine for wealth went through the vetting.

According to Phiri,  the semi-finals involved personal interviews through skype by a panel of judges in Holland, Amsterdam, assignments and submitting a full project proposal.

Phiri said  only 6 contenders among them Urine for wealth project out of 20 semi-finalists excelled through to the finals which are slated for February 5,  2015 in Holland, Amsterdam.

During the finals only 2 winners will get the prize of €15,000 each.

Phiri who owns Environmental Industries is an  architect of  the project which is representing Malawi at the World contest for social innovation award in Amsterdam.

The finals will involve physical presentation of the project before a panel of judges.

Urine for wealth is a project about harvesting human urine and processing the same into organic fertilizers called Bionitrate.

According to Phiri,  Bionitrate is 100% liquid organic nitrogen applicable to crops, landscape and orchards as alternative to chemical fertilizers.

The fertilizer is made by Environmental Industries in Lilongwe, Area 25.

The technology aims at promoting organic farming in the work of costly imported chemical fertilizers and degraded agricultural soils.

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