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Biogas Heroes

Biogas pioneer wins prestigious Award for promoting anaerobic digestion in Cameroon and Africa

  • Boma Mohammed Chi was named Winner of the “Education Campaign of the Year” Award at the 2023 AD and Biogas Industry Awards Ceremony in Birmingham, UK, on 29th March.
  • He was recognised for the work of the RRECAM Group, which he leads, and the impact his initiative has had in helping local communities to adopt and benefit from anaerobic digestion and biogas technology in his region.
  • The AD and Biogas Industry Awards are run by the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) and the World Biogas Association (WBA) to celebrate excellence and innovation in the global AD and biogas sector.

 

Boma Mohammed Chi with the “Education Campaign of the Year” award

Boma Mohammed Chi, an experienced anaerobic digestion (AD) and biogas technology specialist from the Northwest region of Cameroon, has won the coveted “Education Campaign of the Year” Award in the 2023 AD and Biogas Industry Awards competition. The Awards are organised annually by the UK Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) and the World Biogas Association (WBA).

“Boma Mohammed Chi really impressed the judges with his outreach to rural communities in Cameroon”, commented Chris Huhne, chairman of ADBA and host of the Awards ceremony. “He is passionate and committed to ensuring understanding and access to AD/biogas technology for those who will benefit most and continues to succeed under hard conditions. This really is a well-deserved recognition of the great impact he is making in the field of AD and biogas in Africa. Many congratulations to him on winning this Award.”

The Award recompensed his work as Chief Executive of the Royal Renewable Energy Cameroon Enterprise (RRECAM) and co-founder of the Royal Renewable Energy Common Initiative Group (RRE-CIG) – jointly referred to as the RRECAM Group – which develops and promotes renewable energy and sustainable development using biogas technology to fight rural poverty, energy shortages, air pollution, gender inequality, unemployment, energy monopoly, deforestation and climate change.

Boma Mohammed Chi demonstrates the use of a portable iBC digester

Under Boma Mohammed Chi’s leadership, the RRECAM Group built and installed over 50 portable and fixed biodigesters in Cameroon and educated and trained over a thousand people worldwide – including youths and women – on AD and biogas technology. They did so by using the “EBAFOSA Innovative Volunteerism Strategy*,” which aims to change the mindset of the people with no financial support in a country such as Cameroon and to convince them to embrace the technology as a solution not just to improve their health and the environment, but also as a way of creating employment and increasing their income through the sale of biogas products.

iBC portable digester manufacture

“I’m honoured and proud to receive this award which stands in appreciation of the work I have dedicated my life to for over 10 years”, said Boma Mohammed Chi. “Over 700,000 women and children lose their lives each year in Africa because of indoor pollution and this Award is dedicated to them – it paves the way towards using AD and biogas technology as a solution to this health issue and also to boost agricultural productivity through the use of bio-slurry.”

A fixed dome digester

“As an AD and biogas practitioner, this award will hopefully enable me to raise funds for AD and biogas projects in Cameroon and in Africa in general”, he continues. “Lack of funding has been a major setback to the development of industry in Africa and Cameroon in particular, despite the government’s international conversations and commitments.”

*EBASOFA (Ecosystem Based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly) Innovative Volunteerism is being promoted and used across Africa in the development and promotion of waste management for both financial, agriculture, social, health or environmental reasons.

The REECAM CHI 1 digester bag

– ENDS –

For further information, contact:

For the RRECAM Group:
Boma Mohammed Chi: biogascameroon@yahoo.com

For the AD and Biogas Industry Awards:
Jocelyne Bia: jbia@worldbiogasassociation.org

Notes to Editors:

  • About Boma Mohammed Chi
    • Boma Mohammed Chi comes from the Northwest region of Cameroon. He is a Biogas Practitioner, Educator and Trainer with over 10 years’ experience in the field of anaerobic digestion and biogas technology.
    • He is the Co-founder of Royal Renewable Energy Common Initiative Group (RRE-CIG) and the Chief Executive Officer of Royal Renewable Energy Cameroon Enterprise (RRECAM) – together generally known as the RRECAM Group. The company manufactures and installs biogas digesters in homes, restaurants, hotels, schools, student residential areas and shopping centres to produce cooking gas, organic fertilisers and electricity.
    • He is also the Founder of the Biogas Technology and Sustainable Agriculture experimental Farm and the Ecosystem Based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly Center for Waste Recycling to Biofertilizer and Biogas in Cameroon (EBAFOSA). At the experimental farm which is a site for research and innovation, Boma Mohammed and his team have been able to fabricate their own model of biodigester bag named the RRECAM CHI 1 Baby Dragon.
    • He is a representative of Solar Cities Biogas innovators and practitioners in central and west Africa.
    • He works in collaboration with Government Ministries such as the Ministry of Employment and Vocational training (MINEFOP), the Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development (MINEPDED), the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Development (MINADER), the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation (MINRESI), the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources (MINEE), the Ministry of Women Empowerment and the Family and many more.
  • Launched in 2011, the annual AD and Biogas Industry Awards, often held alongside the World Biogas Summit and World Biogas Expo in Birmingham, UK, celebrate excellence and innovation around the globe across 12 categories. The competition is run jointly by the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association and the World Biogas Association. www.adbioresources.org/events/awards
  • The Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) is the trade association for the UK anaerobic digestion (AD) and biogas industry. ADBA’s vision is to see the full potential of the UK AD industry realised so it can help the UK achieve its emissions targets and other policy goals, creating a truly circular economy. www.adbioresources.org
  • Launched at COP22 in Marrakesh in 2016, the World Biogas Association (WBA) is the global trade association for the biogas, landfill gas and anaerobic digestion (AD) sectors, and is dedicated to facilitating the recycling of all organic wastes and residues through biogas globally. It believes that the global adoption of biogas technologies is a multi-faceted opportunity to produce clean, renewable energy, bioCO2, natural fertilisers and other valuable bioresources while addressing energy and food security and resolving global issues related to development, public health, and economic growth. www.worldbiogasassociation.org
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