I've used this package to create the CI project as it comes pre packaged with composer usability. https://github.com/kenjis/codeigniter-composer-installer.
codeigniter/
├── application/
├── composer.json
├── composer.lock
├── public/
│ ├── .htaccess
│ └── index.php
└── vendor/
└── codeigniter/
└── framework/
└── system/
- PHP 5.3.7 or later
composercommand (See Composer Installation)- Git
/application/config/config.php
/application/config/database.php
/application/config/autoload.php
/application/controllers/Userc.php
/application/models/User.php
/applicaion/views/homepage.blade.php
/applicaion/helpers/Globals_helper.php
Once loaded properly, you can use eloquent as you use in Laravel. Check Eloquent docs for that.