Thulani Bono creates renewable energy and organic food

Thulani Bono is the founder of Finishes of Nature Global, a project operating in the renewable energy space specialising in biogas digestive systems that produce biogas for heating and cooking as well as organic fertiliser for farming. He grew up in the rural village of Qokolweni near Mthatha in the Eastern Cape herding cattle and sheep for his grandparents and attending an underdeveloped primary school which lacked proper facilities before moving to a model C school and then moving to East London to study electrical engineering at Technicon.

As a child, Thulani was introduced to entrepreneurship through the shopkeepers in his and the nearby villages. What stood out to him was the amount of time they could spend with their families and this was something he wanted to emulate. As he grew older he understood this to be entrepreneurship.

Photo Mpumelelo Macu

Growing up having to plow fields early in the mornings, Thulani was never satisfied with the returns the fields yielded compared to the effort that was put into it and so was keen to learn more about how to improve up that system. He came across a similar system already developed in South Africa at Rhodes University however it was limited to wastewater in urban areas. He adapted the system to work in a rural setting where the biogas digestive systems accept organic waste and effluent and produce methane gas as well as an organic fertiliser, with the gas used for cooking and heating and the fertiliser providing nutrients to an organic vegetable garden providing nutrition, access to sustainable energy and sanitation in a closed loop to isolated, rural communities allowing them to be less dependent on faraway resources.

Thulani faces his challenges optimistically. As an entrepreneur, he struggles with overcoming bureaucratic hurdles and slow timelines due to the need for approvals. Another challenge is having trainees discontinue working on the project after training due to the lack of stipends. He gains great joy from seeing people’s attitudes change after he explains how they can be self-sufficient using their own organic waste, as well as seeing the self-empowerment people gain after establishing and running such a project for themselves. They are currently working on completing 5 sites and are looking to expand to 30 by the end of the next financial year. Having the project at schools also gives the opportunity for learners to study the different systems at play including the production of the methane gas and organic agriculture. In the longer run, the goal is to expand to other sectors such as small to medium scale farmers helping them to produce energy and reduce their reliance on the electrical grid, as well as working with municipalities to treat their wastewater.

Photo Mpumelelo Macu

Thulani is hoping to gain entrepreneurship development from the Amaphiko academy and to gain help looking beyond just the mechanics of what it is he is doing. He is looking to learn how to properly market his idea and effectively manage his business. He is also looking to finding synergies amongst his fellow social entrepreneurs to find possible ways of collaborating and bringing their projects together in order to have a greater impact.