On my last trip to Kenya in February 2023, I had the pleasure of meeting Carol Wangu Wachira, who had just started making briquettes and decided to turn it into a business. She joined the United Briquette Producers Association and has made tremendous strides in getting her business up and running. We decided to interview
Kikopey Cleaning Up Cooking in Kenya Read More »
Charcoal awaiting transport, near Voi, Kenya. Photo credit: The Charcoal Project The African continent is facing an energy crisis with ninety percent of the Sub-Saharan African (SSA) population relying on woodfuels, including charcoal, which is often unsustainably harvested. Sustainable charcoal offers a potential solution to Africa’s energy crisis, but varying levels of regulation and government
Is the Path to Sustainable Charcoal Straightforward? Read More »
The Opportunity Clean burning charcoal briquettes have started to gain traction recently as viable clean alternatives to traditional charcoal or other biofuels. The feedstocks used to create briquettes vary, but include agricultural residues and other raw materials, most commonly bagasse and sawdust. However, coconut waste (shells and husks) also provide a viable alternative feedstock, which
Leveraging Coconut Waste to Maximize Impact Read More »
Using Green Energy to fight for Women’s Health Meet Prescilla Awino Onyango of Winam Green Ventures Prescilla Awino Onyango is the founder of Winam Green Ventures (WGV), an organization in Kenya that works with women of underprivileged backgrounds in the Lake Victoria region. WGV educates and empowers women and girls with locally driven, sustainable and
Using Green Energy to Fight for Women’s Health Read More »
The Charcoal Project is seeking to expand its relationships with social impact investors to help facilitate funding for participants in the renewable biomass fuel sector, who are often unable to access traditional capital markets. We recently helped arrange a loan between Betty Zizinga Kaddu at Best of Waste Ltd (BOW) in Uganda and the 3rd Creek
Providing Social Capital to a Ugandan Entrepreneur Read More »
How Tanzania’s ‘War on Charcoal’ harms people and the environment A World Bank study from a few years ago concluded that Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania, consumed the equivalent of 16 olympic-sized swimming pools of wood charcoal every day. Added end to end, our back of the envelope calculation concluded this was enough charcoal
Tanzania’s ‘War on Charcoal’ Harms Everyone Read More »
By Fatin El-Kabashi Abdullah Ibrahim Fatin volunteered with TCP this summer providing pro bono legal advice, researching and blogging about TCP’s work in East Africa. She is a recent Georgetown Law graduate. Fatin previously worked as a finance lawyer in London, UK. She is passionate about supporting entrepreneurship and innovation in developing countries and is
Clean Fuel, Charcoal Briquettes and COVID-19 Read More »
Rogério Carneiro de Miranda, a forest engineer, has dedicated nearly 30 years of his professional life to woodenergy, from mastering the development, production and commercialization of ecostoves (improved wood stoves) in Latin America, to promoting forest replacement associations among small fuelwood consuming enterprises in Central America, alternative cooking with ethanol in Africa, and supporting the
Does Charcoal Have a Future in Africa? Read More »
The Charcoal Project and MIT D-Lab co-hosted a webinar for charcoal briquette producers on adapting to COVID-19 restrictions. The webinar covered operational spacing, automating payments and orders and provided resources for more information on these topics. Dan Sweeney, MIT D-Lab, presented information on the spread of coronavirus and steps business could take to limit the
Adapting Business to Social Distancing – Webinar Read More »
Emergency Funds for Fuel Providers The Charcoal Project (TCP) is raising funds to provide micro grants to fuel providers struggling with COVID 19 restrictions. TCP will dedicate all funds raised in conjunction with the Giving Tuesday Now campaign to help entrepreneurs with payroll and other necessary expenditures. The travel and transportation bans in East Africa
Emergency Funds for Fuel Providers Read More »
Clean Energy Companies Turn to Bamboo as a Renewable Resource Use of Wood Fuel is Still Prevalent Over 80% of sub-Saharan Africans are still relying on wood or wood charcoal for household energy needs. A large swath of the population still lack access to affordable modern cooking fuels, like electricity, LPG or ethanol. Dependence on
Clean Energy Companies Turn to Bamboo Read More »
The Charcoal Project is pleased to sponsor a Charcoal Briquette Industry Networking Event in Kampala, Uganda, on January 29th, 2020 Come join us for an afternoon of learning and sharing in the sector. Great chance to network with your peers! For producers and distributors of carbonized briquettes. Featured speakers from CIRCODU, UNSB and
Briquette Industry Networking Event – Uganda Read More »
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