Circularity in the Biomass Business
"We have created an innovative approach to sustainable biomass production simultaneously mitigating climate change enhancing food production promoting soil conservation and advancing economic social and environmental well-being especially for smallholder farmers."
Lucky Dissanayake, WEGCA 2019 Social Eco Game Changer Award Winner (Gold)
Founder and CEO, Biomass Ventures Pte Ltd
Biomass Ventures is a vertically integrated sustainable energy business that develops biomass resources to produce pellets and power in Sri Lanka.. At its core Biomass Ventures is a profitable socially responsible business. After spending years on R&D, Lucky realized the agri-energy sector in Sri Lanka, although poorly organized, has immense potential. Biomass is already a widely used energy source for household cooking in rural areas for drying tea in tea factories and in garment boilers for producing steam and even electricity but it’s sourcing is unsustainable in its present form. Outgrower schemes, although prevalent in the tea and coconut sectors, were non-existent in the biomass sector.This also provides an opportunity for biomass power to transform rural development in the country.
Biomass Ventures’ outgrower model is designed to deliver socio-economic impact for their supply partners which in turn ensures stable supply. Since the start of business in March 2013 Biomass has registered more than 50000 mainly smallholder farmers to their outgrower programme, who have collectively planted approximately 100 million Gliricidia trees. Today over 80% of the registered smallholder farmers are women.
The income they earn is then used to supplement household income and children’s education. This approach provides a circular and holistic business model that empowers women and small scale farmers.