The interview Viktoria had (in Swedish!) with SLU Youth Institute about our work on fly larvae composting is now out. In the video below you can see the interview 10 min in.
Capacity building and knowledge exchange on Black Soldier Fly composting technology
Within our VR finance project Insect farming for feed production and organic waste management in Benin we now welcome three guests from Benin that will stay with us for a month to learn and exchange knowledge on the BSF technology: Daniel Dzepe, Carline Santos and Claude Gande (seen  in front of our BSF containers at Ultuna campus). Read their personal presentations below.
Hi! My Name is Daniel DZEPE, I am a PhD holder working with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Benin on Black Soldier Fly (BSF). Being at the Department of Energy and Technology of SLU for one month internship with Dr Cecilia Laland
er’s team means a lot to me since I have been reading her interesting publications since my Masters. I will be working on BSF composting technology with Viktoria and the other technicians in the lab. Although I already have a good experience of BSF technology, especially regarding the rearing and bioconversion processes, I am so confident that my time in this team will improve my skills and knowledge and will probably allow me to get more opportunities in this field in the future. I will stay until the end of the month, and I am already ready to enjoy my stay with my new colleagues.
Hello. My name is Carline Santos, iâam researcher in Molecular genetics and plant protection from International Institue of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Benin (West Africa). My work focus on « impact of Black Soldier Fly (BSF) Frass on vegetable crops production and pest management ».
I came at SLU at the Department of Energy and Technology for one month internship to learn more about Black Soldier Fly (BSF) technologies for organic waste management. Iâm very happy to join Dr Cecilia Lalanderâs team and i want to thank SLU and everyone for this training  opportunity.  I would like to thank specifically Dr Cecilia Lalander, Dr Laura Riggi and Viktoria Wiklicky for your assistance since we are arrived.
Hello. Iâm Claude Mathias GANDE, research technician from International Institue of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Benin.
Iâm very happy to join Dr Cecilia Lalanderâs team to improve my knowledge on Black Soldier Fly (BSF) technologies.
HedersdoktorsförelÀsning Madeleine Fogde
Vi hade glĂ€djen efter tvĂ„ Ă„rs vĂ€ntan, pga COVID, Ă€ntligen fĂ„ lyssna till Madeleine Fogdes förelĂ€sning âCommunication countsâ som en del i programmet nĂ€r hon utsĂ„gs till hedersdoktor vid NJ fakulteten pĂ„ SLU. Det var mycket intressant att höra vikten av att kommunicera och hur svaret pĂ„ en frĂ„ga pĂ„ hur man kan utföra en uthĂ„llig sanitetslösning frĂ„n ett katastrofomrĂ„de i Mocambique, som besvarades av Prof Emeritus HĂ„kan Jönsson och ledde till mĂ„nga installationer pĂ„ 90-talet och sedemera ledde till ett lĂ„ngvarigt samarbete kring uthĂ„llig sanitet och nu vĂ€lkomnar vi Madeleine till SLU. Se Madeleines presentation nedan, hon börjar 14 min in.
Honorary doctorate lecture Madeleine Fogde at SLU
We had the joy, after waiting for two years, due to COVID, to finally listen to Madeleine Fogde’s lecture âCommunication countsâ as a part of the program of becoming honorary doctor at the NJ faculty at SLU. It was interesting to hear about the importance of communication and how a response to a question about how to construct sustainable sanitation after a natural disaster in Mozambique, that was answered by Prof Emeritus HĂ„kan Jönsson and lead to several installations of ecological sanitation systems during the 1990-ies. Later this also lead to a long-term collaboration on sustainable sanitation and now we say welcome for becoming a part of SLU. Madeleine’s presentation starts 14 min into the video below.
Mohamad Kentar ansluter Kretsloppsteknik som praktikant
Jag kommer frÄn Syrien och flyttade till Sverige för nÀstan sex Är sedan. PÄ grund av kriget kunde jag inte avsluta mina studier I biokemi vod Universitetet i Aleppo.
Men med stor optimism och vilja att utmana mig sjÀlv ÄtervÀnde jag till skolbÀnken och lÀser nu andra Äret pÄ programmet i lÀkemedel och livsmedelsteknik pÄ Folkuniversitetet i Uppsala. Mina studier handlar om hela produktionskedjan frÄn ide till produkt. IngÄende moment Àr hygienkrav, processteknik, processkemi och relevant lagstiftning. MÄlet med min utbildning Àr att kunna förbÀttra hÀlsan och livskvaliteten samt praktiskt arbete med uthÄllig lÀkemedels- och livsmedelsproduktion.
Det var med stor glÀdje som jag nyligen accepterades som praktikant pÄ SLU, som laboratorieassistent under 2,5 mÄnader inom fluglarvskomposteringsprocessen dÀr organiskt avfall omvandlas till djurfoder (insektslarver) och organiskt gödsel (behandlingsrest).
Links:Â mohamad kentar | LinkedIn. E-post: m.kentar86@gmail.com
Mohamad Kentar â New intern at Kretsloppsteknik
I am originally Syrian and moved to Sweden about six years ago. I could not finish my last year of studying biochemistry at the University of Aleppo because of the war there. But with a lot of optimism and self-challenge, I was finally able to return to the bench of scientific research as a second-year student in the pharmaceutical and food technology at Folkuniversitetet in Uppsala, where my studies covers the entire chain of production from idea to product with hygiene requirements, process technology, process chemistry and knowledge of relevant legislation. With the aim to improve the health and quality of life of the population and work with the sustainable nutrition of the future through qualified practical work in medicine and the food industry.
Fortunately and with great happiness I was recently accepted as an intern at SLU ,as a laboratory assistant for two and a half months in a project fly larvae composting, where organic waste is converted into animal feed (fly larvae) and organic fertilizer (treatment residues).
Links:Â mohamad kentar | LinkedIn. E-post: m.kentar86@gmail.com
Viktoria intervjuas av SLU Youth Institute
Fluglarvskompostering Àr ett verktyg för att sluta kretsloppet i dagens linjÀra livsmedelsproduktionssystem. Viktoria hjÀlper hÀr till att göra reklam för denna teknologi till kommande generation sÄ att vÄrt arbete kan föras vidare och att arbetet med att sluta kretsloppet fortsÀtta.
MÄlet med SLU Youth Institute Àr att skapa intresse hos ungdomar för global livsmedelssÀkerhet, samt att finna uthÄlliga lösningar för FNs uthÄllighetsmÄl. Programmet initierades 2020 och Àr ett av mÄnga ungdomsinstitut som koordineras av World Food Prize Foundation. Gymnasieelever kopplas samman med lokala ledare och experter för en kritisk diskussion kring de globala utmaningarna, för att delta i praktiska aktiviteter och för att upptÀcka nya intressanta sÀtt att göra skillnad i Sverige, i Europa och i vÀrlden.
Ăven larverna visade sin bĂ€sta sida i strĂ„lkastarljuset, turligt nog sĂ„ kan inte kamerorna förmedla lukten (Ă€n).
Video shoot with SLU Youth Institute
To promote SLU Youth Institute and the advantages for high schools becoming part of it, Viktoria Wiklicky was invited to talk about the Black Soldier Flies in their 2022 launching video. Fly larva composting is a tool to close the loop of a now linear food production system and aims to make food production more circular. Promoting the technology to the next generation will ensure that our passion and our ideas will be continued in the future.
SLU Youth Institute aims to create interest among Swedish youth for global food security and to find sustainable solutions to the global challenges based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The programme was founded 2020 and is part of the many Youth Institutes coordinated by World Food Prize Foundation. High school students engage with local leaders and experts to discuss critical global challenges, participate in hands-on activities, and explore exciting ways to make a difference in Sweden, across Europe and around the world. By the way, also the larvae showed their best side in the spotlight of the cameras and luckily, cameras cannot record smell (yet).
Besök av handlÀggare frÄn UD pÄ SLU
Under ett besök av handlÀggare frÄn UD som hade en heldag pÄ SLU dÀr de bland annat besökte oss pÄ kretsloppsteknik. Vi hade intressanta diskussioner kring hur vi kan sluta kretsloppet av vÀxtnÀringen och dÀrigenom bli mer sjÀlvförsörjande och minska vÄr miljöpÄverkan. Vi besökte vÄra behandlingsanlÀggningar för urintokning och fluglarvskompostering dÀr vi presenterade hur vÄr forskning kan öka resiliensen bÄde i Sverige och i vÀrlden genom att tillverka gödsel frÄn vÄrt avlopp och djurfoder frÄn matavfallet.
Visit from the foreign ministry at SLU
During a visit by two foreign ministry officials, that had a full day at SLU about current research they visited us in the Environmental engineering group. We had interesting discussions about closing the loop of plant nutrients and thereby increasing the resilience while decreasing the environmental pollution. We did also visit our two treatment systems for urine drying and for fly larvae composting and presented our research about producing fertilisers from our wastewater and animal feed from the food waste.