We dream, we do. Bringing new life back to the Copperbelt.

BetterWorld Energy partnering with MUSIKA and KCM have pioneered the use of elite Pongamia pinnata (VayuSap TM) to revegetate KCM, Nkana mine disused copper tailings dump facilities in Chingola, Zambia. This project will not only help improve the quality of life for people living near the mine, but create long-term sustainable jobs for a post-mining community, producing bioenergy, bio-pesticides and bio-pharmaceuticals.

Learn about our strategic funding partners MUSIKA here.

Showcasing the Pongamia value chain in India to Zambian Government Representatives

To secure permits for import of elite Pongamia pinnata from India to Zambia BetterWorld followed a rigorous plant quarantine and phytosanitary checks. We took representatives from the Forestry Department and Plant Quarantine and Phytosanitary Services (PQPS) from the Government of Zambia to India to inspect the sapling nursery in India , tree plantations, post-harvesting processing and end-use.

Visiting plantation at JSW in Karnataka

Seed processing involves pressing dried de-hulled pongamia seeds.

Pressing Pongamia seeds

Pressing produces a clear pure oil, which can be used in simple generators and smelters or further processed into biodiesel for blended use in modern cars, trucks or machinery.

Dr Prasad with fresh pressed pongamia oil

Which can be put directly into a generator to provide low cost off-grid power.

World's first - BetterWorld Energy Prepares African Mine Site Regeneration with Pongamia

For the first time, elite Pongamia pinnata will be planted in Sub-Saharan Africa to bring life to a post-mining landscape in Zambia. Copper tailings are produced after copper bearing rocks are crushed and leached with sulphuric acid. The copper concentrate is removed and the resulting sediments are pumped into a tailings storage facility. These are then reprocessed to remove any remaining copper, and the storage facility is left abandoned, ready for rehabilitation.

BetterWorld Energy has a unique strategy to revegetation that makes good environmental sense, but also good economic sense. Our approach creates a whole new post-mining economy, jobs that last beyond the revegetation activities, through the production of bioenergy, bio-pesticides, high value bio-pharmaceuticals and organic fertilisers and animal feeds from plus variety Pongamia pinnata..

For the first time, ladies from the local community are provided with the chance to envision a future of stable employment in a healthy environment. The new skills they have learnt, planting and caring for the new saplings, will be of considerable value as we seek to scale our ecosystem regeneration activities to a much larger area.