Cecilia China, a dedicated scientist from Tanzania, is back at the FILK Freiberg Institute in Germany to continue her work on sustainable leather technologies.
Seven years ago, Cecilia first joined the Freiberg Institute while pursuing her PhD. During her time there, she developed a passion for eco-friendly leather-making methods that could benefit her home country’s environment and economy.
Now a doctorate holder and a lecturer at the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST), she also runs her own company AfriTech Organic Leather.
This time, Cecilia is in Freiberg under a UNESCO initiative called the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD). Her focus is on an innovative project creating natural leather tanning agents from waste left over during cashew nut processing.
She believes these cashew-based materials can serve as a cleaner, more sustainable alternative to traditional tanning chemicals. She’s currently running experiments and doing scientific analysis at FILK to back her idea with evidence.
Cecilia’s work is a powerful example of how science can cross borders and create local solutions with global impact.
