Jose Filipe Abranches
Stalin Paroyds
Taniya Mondal
Shaan Amonkar
Shashank Sawant
Goa Institute of Management
Divya Singhal
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The innovation lies at the heart of Flycatcher Technologies which is the “Bio-digester”, special mention of the versatile “The Rhino Bio-digester."
"The inputs are waste products and output are extremely useful products. One of them is Bio-gas which is a ready-to-use cooking fuel. One can of course also purify it, use it for various other purposes like running an engine with it and multiple other things. The other product is nutritious “Organic Fertilizer”, and we are talking about phosphate-rich organic manure. A lot of synthetic chemical fertilizers have left fields in our country as barren lands so it’s imperative for us to use organic ones," said Mr. Dias.
The UN SDG Goals that Flycatchers has helped to solve are as follows:
SDG 3. Good Health and Well-Being: Disposal of wet waste in biodigester and keeping the environment clean, prevents the growth of disease-causing bacteria and germs.
SDG 6. Clean Water and Sanitation: prevents the disposal of wet waste in water bodies thereby preventing water pollution. Disposal of wet waste in biodigester and keeping the environment clean,
SDG 7. Affordable and Clean Energy: Biogas that is generated as a byproduct is utilized for cooking and heating purpose.
SDG 8. Decent Work and Economic Growth: Provides a good work environment for people in the unorganized sector as well as provides medical and other perks which are above industry standards.
The innovation at Flycatcher Technologies is about, a product that takes trash, and not only processes it but also converts it into a very useful product without making it look like a trash site.
In 2016, one of the first prototypes that was out when Dr. Kabir (Founder) was working on it, it has evolved a lot from there and certainly made it better. "The idea was to also create a decentralized model. So as we started off actually with the model that each person could set up in their homes, it’s called “Dedko”, another bio-digester that could treat about 2 kilos of waste and to give you a comparative to the traditional floating dome digester. It’s a plug and play setup using merely 1m x 1m area, and one can connect it to a gas stove which we provided a special bio gas stove in your kitchen which you used", shared Mr. Dias.
"We segregate the waste and it’s put into the integrated crusher. It's pulverized, made into a kind of slurry that goes into the pre-tank from there onwards it's completely automated. So based on levels, the three tanks automatically sense. The pump pushes it into the main reactor and the bio-digestion process takes place, and then the outputs are biogas and digestate, which is in organic manual of sorts. The entire process is IoT enabled so you can monitor it from a remote location."
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” - MAHATMA GANDHI.
Two decades ago, a massive dump yard overflowing with waste erupted into the adjacent city Panaji (known then as Panjim), a city in Goa, India built upon a thin sliver of land surrounded by waste. The overflowing waste seeped into the nooks and crannies of the city which triggered the residents to storm the municipality. Immediate rectification of the matter and effective waste management policies were discussed. Finally, a consensus was reached that henceforth all waste must be compacted. However, challenges arose with the compaction of “WET WASTE”. This turn of incidents inspired Mr. Richard Dias, a key figure responsible for managing the Integrated Waste Management facility which was a solution to Panaji’s wet waste management problems, to get into the waste management industry. Fast forward a few years, he met Mr. Kabir Das (founder of Flycatcher Technologies) at a symposium, and together this duo set upon a remarkable journey to effectively manage waste and express their creativity using flycatcher as a platform. Flycatchers are birds found in almost every part of the world – yet each one is unique. Keeping this in mind Flycatcher Technologies aims to implement its unique decentralized plants all over India and possibly the globe.
Economical: These benefits represent savings for farmers in fertilizers and energy, but in turn also increases the productivity of their crops, which directly improves the diet of families without damaging the soil and, for those who sell their crops, it also represents extra income and local sources of employment. This benefit makes it possible for farmers to increase their income as part of a natural cycle where the waste of one system is used to be the income of another, and even better, expanding the benefits in their community, as the advantages of organic fertilizers outweigh those of synthetic fertilizers. Since farmers have a renewable energy source, they can stop spending time collecting firewood, stop cutting trees to meet their energy needs, and children who grow up with eco-technologies will know that there are ways to live harmoniously with the environment, without violating the ecosystem. Additionally, there will be a lesser strain on LPG gas used by restaurants or in homes, due to the natural biogas energy resulting from the digested wet waste.
Environmental: While the results of the biodigester have a direct impact on users' lives, this system, in turn, reduces greenhouse gases from agriculture. Waste filled into this digestor is better than decomposing in the open air and accumulating in the atmosphere, increasing earth temperature. Much of this agricultural waste is destined to dumps or water sources that ended up contaminated, which represented serious repercussions to the community because these rivers or wells are its primary source of water supply.
Flycatcher Technologies came out with their first ever prototype in 2016 which is still in proper working conditions. They have evolved quite progressively and have come up with “Rhino Biodegester” and “Dedko”.
The team has digester which can fit in 1x1 sqm area (like a washing machine) which can be placed in a balcony, verandah or even a kitchen.
They have digesters for municipal use, 5 star hotels and other commercial applications. This includes 20kg machine, 75kgs, 150 kgs, 300kgs, 500 kgs and a 5000kg machine is also under progress.
They have 2 end products :
i) Biogas - which is directed towards the kitchen area to a stove. This biogas replaces the LPG. It is also stored under high pressure giving rise to a high pressure flame.
ii) Manure – which acts as a substitute to the chemical manure/fertilizers used.
The machines are already in usage in 1 housing colony, 3-4 resorts, Government Polytechnic (Panjim) campus, Goa Reserved Police Campus. You can also find one in cities of Chapora, Valpoi and Quepem. Mahindra group in Coorg have already the team for their product and Holy family hospital is benefitting quite well from the biodigester.
Public Relations
They were chosen as the World’s Top 5 startups for Waste Management by a company in the Netherlands, which caught the attention of the media and Flycatcher got the limelight. But getting recognized is a double edged sword and hence they decided to stay under the radar and let the product do the talking. They preferred promoting their product by affiliated marketing (letting the customers suggest others about the same).
Waste Wise Program
The program included talking to young kids from standard 1-5 in schools of Goa and try to educate them about the importance of segregation and sustainable living.
Flycatchers has collaborated with multiple government and private institutions and provide the bio digesters in order to help their clients to take care of their solid waste needs. The bio digester equipment provided by flycatchers make use of advance technologies which enables the transformation of the solid waste into biogas and organic fertilizer. The bio degradable waste that would be normally thrown away is now being converted into organic fertilizer and biogas. The organic fertilizer generated from this process is being used to grow organic fruits and vegetable or it is being sold in the open market. biogas that is generated is being used as piped gas for cooking and heating purpose by domestic and industrial units. This has helped to reduce the dependence on non – renewable sources of energy to a great extent.
Flycatchers have been instrumental in bringing awareness among the community by organizing workshops and events that highlight the importance of segregation of waste and maintaining a clean and green environment. The have provided well-paying jobs and training facilities to their employees.
Flycatchers have been constantly innovating with the latest technology tools and investing in research and development of their product as well as the quality of service they provide to their clients. This has resulted in them optimizing their operations and wide scale interest in their product across the country. Their efforts have been recognized by a Netherlands based company for being ranked as one of the top 5 best innovative waste management startups in the world.
Flycatchers were instrumental in understanding the benefits of a decentralized model of solid waste management over a centralized model, which created a new business vertical in the solid waste management domain. Keeping the decentralized model in mind Flycatchers have been able to design product and service to cater to the customized needs of their clients.
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Flycatcher Technologies LLP is into solid waste management that has adopted artificial intelligence technologies in their bio-digesters for real-time monitoring of the equipment via mobile application. Flycatchers under the leadership of Mr. Richard and Mr. Kabir have made long strides in the field of wet waste management, which has resulted in their company being awarded the Prime ministers award in recognition for their innovations in solid waste management. They set up their first centralized state-of-the-art solid waste management plant at Panjim. In the span of three years, they are handling/operating more than 40 project sites across India. They are known for providing innovative products and quality after-sales services to their clients.
