Culex: Repurposing Tobacco for Use as a Pesticide
Team Novus: Jonathan Ko, Carolyn Ge, Abhi Upadhyay, Yash Gupta, Tejas Mattur
2017-2018 Conrad Spirit of Innovation Challenge, Smoke-Free World Category
Founder/Captain, team of 5
faq
What is your innovative product/service?
Culex is a potent, natural pesticide in the form of bio-oil derived from tobacco leaves through pyrolysis. It protects crops from insects, fungi, and bacteria as an environmentally friendly product.
What challenge(s) is your product/service designed to solve?
Culex solves two problems at once: the falling standard of living of smallholder tobacco farmers as smoking rates decline worldwide and the harmful consequences of modern-day pesticides to the environment and to humans.
What are the key features of your product/service that make it special?
Culex uses natural tobacco leaves to produce an eco-friendly pesticide. This incorporates the existing infrastructure of tobacco farmers and increases demand for tobacco, thereby supporting farmers in a smoke-free world.
How is your product/service innovative and different from other product/services intended to solve the same challenges?
While other services require tobacco farmers to cultivate new crops with new equipment, Culex drives demand for tobacco. Unlike most commonly used pesticides, Culex does not harm the environment or contaminate groundwater supplies.