The Founder of Nigerian Quintessential Business Women Association, Mrs Shimite Katung,has urged women to strive to preserve the environment while engaged in their economic activities.

Speaking to newsmen in Abuja on Thursday, Katung also urged women to find an alternative technology to firewood that they could use as cooking fuel.

She said that the call became necessary owing to the health hazards associated with using firewood as fuel for cooking.

“We want to deal with the felling of trees and using it as cooking fuel because the smoke that comes out of it is cancerous. It also affects the lungs; it’s also not good for the eyes in the long run even though people like that smoke of firewood.

She stated that the health disadvantages were huge for just to get your jollof rice smelling like smoke. The smokes smell into the rice, fine; but is not worth the health hazards and we would also want to find the alternatives that the women can use.

“We have found an alternative that cost 3,000 naira; you have heard about it the clean stove thing; somebody here does that; so we will just link up with him and find out what his network is.

If he does not have a network up to the local government level, we do. So, we see how the women can contribute N200 to a point where they can take the stove.

“While we continue to tell them the disadvantage of using the fire firewood both to the environment to their homes and all of that.“

Katung said that tree planting can not only enhance the environment but also create economic values

“We want to do tree planting. There is this tree that grows in two years; the seeds are from Brazil and they come out very strong.

“You can use it for furniture and all of that; so when it is planted today, in two years, it can be harvested; you can continue to replant. So they will happily plant it knowing the cost when is felled; so I want something that will make some economic sense.

“It is for profit, so everything we are going to do must make some economic sense to enable you tap from it.“

She said that since the theme of this year’s World Environment Day was about avoiding waste, parents, teachers, and children should be proactive about it.

“We have agreed that there is no such thing as waste if you can turn it to cash whether is newspapers you need to know how to sort it out. Sort out bottles differently, bottle covers differently plastic differently.

“There are existing companies that receive some of these things but also there are monies from different banks with a good business plan.

“They will be able to give you money but one part that the bank missed which the women need to understand is the up-takers.

According to  Katung,  an up-taker is the person who will buy what you have she said. It was good to find our up-taker before the time.

For broken bottles, she advised women to approach Pepsi, Coca Cola etc and find out.

“Find out if they are up-takers for broken bottles.

“ So we need to find up-takers take on what you want to do nylon factories find your up-taker most banks will take you on that.

“For the children I think from early they need to teach them value of keeping their environment clean. They need to be thought sorting out dirt the right way and knowing that some of these can be used for manure it can be reused again.

“Every time you use a paper again you save a tree so some of these has to be inculcated. So for me I am not really into the children but the teachers and the parents because whatever you dish is what the children absorb as their way of life.

“For the teachers I think they should take some time to know what is happening; they should  take  time to find out  what people are doing.

“You cannot sit down and complain about something they have just solved yesterday because you did not make an effort to find out what it is.