Terra Endeavors
Building very low cost algae & biodigester units to produce nutritional supplements, ethanol cooking fuel & village electrification
Community-owned, managed & operated renewable energy business utilizing very low cost algae & biodigester units to produce 1) nutritional supplements (for local consumption, food-aid orgs & export to US/EU/Australia), 2) ethanol cooking fuel, 3) animal feed, 4) biodiesel, 5) hand-made soap, 6) organic fertilizer & 7) village electrification, plus rainwater harvesting & numerous employment opportunities for over 60 rural villages over 10 years.
Facts
2010
| Two years ago: | |
| Last year: | |
| This year (forecast): | 34,500 |
| Year 2 (forecast): | 716,100 |
| Year 3 (forecast): | 2,266,000 |
| Two years ago: | |
| Last year: | |
| This year (forecast): | -220200 |
| Year 2 (forecast): | -304100 |
| Year 3 (forecast): | 137,700 |
| Two years ago: | |
| Last year: | |
| This year (forecast): | 15 |
| Year 2 (forecast): | 71 |
| Year 3 (forecast): | 115 |
Finance needed
| Finance needed for fixed assets (buying of machines, buildings, ...) | 93,700 |
| Finance needed for working capital (salaries, stock, rental, leasing, transport, ...) | 186,300 |
| Total finance needed (US$) | 280,000 |
How do you expect this to be financed? Please note: the total amount mentioned here should be equal to the total finance needed at the previous question.
| Own Contribution in cash | 5,000 |
| Loans (debt) | 0 |
| Share capital that you seek from investors (equity) | 137,500 |
| Other sources | 137,500 |
| Total finance needed (US$) | 280,000 |
The Business
Products for rural village use:
Ethanol cooking fuel (for use in alcohol-burning stoves)
Mini-Grid village electrification
Algae biodiesel
Spirulina & Chlorella nutritional supplements
High-protein animal feed
Glycerin soap
Organic fertilizer
We will also be producing several other products:
Spirulina & Chlorella nutritional supplements (for food-aid orgs & for export)
DHA (ingredient for cosmetics & nutritional supplement)
1) Ethanol cooking fuel avoids health risk & deforestation with wood & charcoal
2) Nutritional supplements combat malnutrition & generate export revenues
3) Overcome lack of electricity & fertilizer
1) Build algae growth units & biodigester on non-arable land provided by village using local materials & labor.
2) Grow, harvest & dewater algae.
3) Ferment/Distill wild indigenous algae into ethanol cooking fuel & animal feed. Dry & package Spirulina/Chlorella for food-aid orgs and for export.
4) Install engine-genset & distribute electricity to schools, local businesses, clinics & homes. Residual byproduct is organic fertilizer.
Cooking fuel, biodiesel, soap, animal feed, electricity & fertilizer will be distributed to local villagers.
Spirulina, Chlorella & DHA nutritional supplements will be:
1) distributed to food-aid orgs
2) exported to US/EU/Australia/Asia and distributed via health/social-cause retailers (such as Essential Living Foods, Whole Foods, Henry's Markets, in the US)
Electricity distributed to local village & to nat'l grid where feasible
Cooking fuel, biodiesel, soap, animal feed, electricity & fertilizer sold at very low price to local villagers
Spirulina, Chlorella & DHA nutritional supplements will be:
1) distributed to food-aid orgs
2) exported to US/EU/Australia/Asia and distributed via health/social-cause retailers (such as Essential Living Foods, Whole Foods, Henry's Markets, in the US)
Electricity distributed to local village & to nat'l grid where feasible
Cooking Fuel: Waste wood & charcoal, liquid propane gas, solar cookers & improved cookstoves
Animal Feed: Native vegetation, animal feed crops
Nutritional Supplements: ADM, BASF, Cargill, Unilever, DSM Nutritional Products, Solae, NBTY & Natrol
Organic Fertilizer: Animal manure & chemical fertilizer
Electricity: Distributed solar, wind, hydro and national grids
Local villagers will own, manage & operate our facilities. Low cost systems produce very clean energy & other outputs, require no arable land, offer substantial revenues from the sale of nutritional supplements
Collaboration ensures that villagers produce & get access to low priced outputs, employment opportunities & participate directly in our financial success
Utilize low-cost, algae growth units on non-arable land to collect rainwater and produce cooking fuel, biodiesel, animal feed, nutritional supplements, soap
Biodigesters to provide villages with electricity & organic fertilizer
Export high-margin branded Spirulina/Chlorella to US/EU
Exporting high-value Spirulina, Chlorella & DHA nutritional supplements to the US/EU will generate high revenues & profitability, allowing us to offer rural villagers much needed products & electricity at affordable prices and internally fund expansion of facilities to over 60 villages over our 10 yr planning horizon
By structuring the business as a co-operative, local villages benefit directly from Terra Endeavors' success & growth
The Entrepreneur & Management
My background is in energy consulting, finance & marketing. I'm a Univ of Chicago MBA & PhD from Univ of Calif, Irvine. Committed to utilizing innovative biotechnology solutions and providing access to wealthier markets to benefit those living in rural East Africa & the enviornment
My partners David Sieg, Rex Zietsman, Vikram Pattarkine are experts in renewable energy, algae growth system, biodigesters, biodiesel & wastewater treatment.
Our knowledge of renewable energy technologies, how they can best be utilized & implemented in a sustainable, low-cost way
Our commitment to ensuring that the rural population not only benefits from, but participates in, our operations - their finances, their health & their standard of living should all improve
My knowledge of marketing/branding to create & gain distribution for a brand of high-value Spirulina, Chlorella & DHA
Initially, we'll be spending roughly 60-80 hrs/wk as we get the business up & running, and then fully operational.
We have a number of systems & outputs, plus very aggressive expansion strategy in place.
Development
Low-cost, readily available outputs, including high protein/nutrient supplements, electricity & improved access to freshwater, plus the income villagers will share in from our overseas exports.
Environment improved by removing CO2 from the atmosphere, reducing deforestation by providing readily available, much cleaner-burning cooking fuel/stoves, much cleaner burning biodiesel and organic fertilizer to replenish the soil.
