The Charcoal Project goes boots-on-the-ground in Uganda

“Whatever you can do or imagine, begin it;

boldness has beauty, magic, and power in it.”

– Goethe

We were giddy with excitement and full of dreams when we launched The Charcoal Project in late 2009.

But the truth is we had no idea what awaited us.

Now, almost a year and half later — slightly out of breath from the steep learning curve — we’re happy to report The Charcoal Project is standing on solid ground and is ready to expand the scope of its work.

That is why our next few posts will be dedicated to our projects in Uganda, our work with briquette-makers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and the International Conference on Charcoal we are planning for 2012. We share these with you because we believe each one of these projects moves us closer to fulfilling our mission.

We also hope you will support this effort!

Rubaare, Uganda

Over the past few weeks we’ve been looking forward to sharing with you the ins and outs of the Biomass Energy Efficiency Program we began in late 2010 with our partners in the rural community of Rubaare, Uganda.

[To be perfectly honest, we were waiting to share the news until we had our Donate button up and running on our website because we think (or at least very much hope!), that you’re going to love this project as much as we do and help us make it a reality!]

View a slideshow of Rubaare and its people.

Why Rubaare?

The fact is that Rubaare, which covers and an area of several hundred square kilometers, has pretty much run out woodfuel.

Rubaare’s population hovers around 15,000 and almost all of them depend on wood for fuel. (Click to view a map of Rubaare.)

The main institutions in the community are the seven elementary and high schools that are scattered across this area. In all, the school provides daily meals to 1,850 students, many of whom are either orphans or come from very impoverished families.

For Henry Twinemasiko, the school director and our partner on the ground, providing the woodfuel necessary to cook 1,850 meals each day is a big, costly headache that jeopardizes the health of cooks, the local environment, and, ultimately, his ability to deliver a good education to his students.

During our research we learned that the situation in Rubaare is not uncommon for this part of the country. Indeed, we’re told that in some areas families must sometimes choose between eating and purchasing a bundle of wood or charcoal for cooking.

Uganda, like several other countries in the region, depends heavily on woodfuel and charcoal for energy, yet it has no viable coordinated, sustainable plan to help meet its energy needs.

Our goal in Rubaare is to help the community meet its energy needs in a sustainable way.

We chose to work in Rubaare because we think it’s a great place for us learn and develop a viable, efficient, and sustainable biomass energy efficiency model that can replicated elsewhere.

Sylvia’s story

Instead of going into lengthy, dry, details about the project, we thought it would be best to let our partners and staff explain the project in their own words.

Sylvia Herzog, our Sr. Business Development Officer, lives in Weschester County, New York, but spends much of her time working (virtually) on the ground in this remote corner of Western Uganda.

The Charcoal Project: Tell us a bit about yourself. What’s your professional background and why did you get involved in this project?

Sylvia Herzog: My professional background is in finance and banking.  In addition to an MBA, I have a MPP and have been interested in economic development since studying economics in college.  In recent years, I have become increasingly focused on the environment and alternative energy.  TCP’s mission to provide alternatives for the energy poor really struck a chord with me.  This project fit perfectly with my business skills and interests so I jumped at the chance to get involved.

TCP: So, Sylvia, tell us, at its core, what is the Rubaare project about?

SH: The Rubaare project is about finding alternative energy solutions for people who have very limited options.  There is a school district in Uganda called Rubaare Educational Foundation (REF), which desperately needs to find an alternative to burning wood for fuel, and a clean way to use that fuel.

TCP: What concretely do you plan to achieve with the Rubaare project?

SH: We plan to establish a briquette making operation that benefits the school district and surrounding community.  The briquettes, which are manufactured using very simple, available technology, are made of from the discarded agricultural residues, sawdust, and other biomass that is presently going to waste. The briquettes will save the community money, time and effort from collecting/buying firewood and reduce the devastating impact of deforestation on the area.

We will also upgrade cookstoves at the schools and in the community.  The cookstoves will dramatically reduce emissions, having a positive impact on the environment and the people’s health.

We will also establish a tree-farming program, which will provide additional sources of fuel and income.

We also hope to use the Rubaare site to test some other technologies, such as biogas digesters and solar illuminators.

We are calling our approach BEEP, which stands for Biomass Energy Efficiency Program. The idea is to introduce efficiency and optimize sustainable, renewable energy sources that can significantly improve the energy supply chain for communities in need. As you know about 90 percent of the people in sub-Saharan Africa depend on wood, charcoal, and other solid biomass fuels for energy.

TCP: Where does the project stand right now?

SH: We have all the fundamentals in place now to start the first phase of the program and are seeking funding to begin. We’re hoping to raise about $40K to launch the first phase of the project.

TCP: How long have you been working on this and what have you learned so far from this experience?

SH: I have been working on this since the end of last year and have learned a great deal about the issues of deforestation and reducing household emissions.  I have been a bit awestruck by the number of people in the international community who freely and generously give their time and technology to address these issues.

TCP: In your opinion what are the main challenges to the success of this project?

SH: The main challenges will be acceptance of a new technology by the community.  Cooking is a central part of every culture, so it is extremely important that community members agree how and why the briquettes and clean cookstoves improve their lives. We can bring sustainable renewable fuels and the best cookstoves in the world but if we don’t have the buy-in from the community, it just won’t work.

TCP: What are the project’s greatest strengths?

SH: The school district and its director, Henry Twinemasiko are perfect partners to work with on this project.  The school district has great needs, but also great leadership.  Henry has a management system in place that will be able to coordinate the briquette production.  He is also a beacon in the community and will help us spread the technology beyond the schools.

We also benefit from the fact that we have achievable, concrete goals, which can be reached with a relatively small capital investment.  The school district should be able to repay our capital investment within two years of starting production, because of fuel savings and briquette sales.

The idea is to create a fund that can then be re-invested in other BEEP projects elsewhere.

TCP: Who are your partners?

SH: In addition to Henry and the school district, we are working with Isaac Owor of Envirocoal in Kampala, the capital. Isaac is an entrepreneur and runs his own briquette- making operation. He has done an excellent job for us with due diligence and set-up.

We are also working with Trees for the Future on tree planting at the schools and in the community.  We are currently in talks with several providers of stoves on both the institutional side and on community based stoves.

TCP: What has it been like working with Henry and Isaac?

SH: Its have been really great to work with Henry and Isaac.  They are both extremely dedicated to improving their community and finding solutions to the energy problem they face.  Henry has been open to many ideas for his schools and Isaac has been instrumental in helping us develop a project with achievable goals.

We hope this first interview with Sylvia has inspired you to learn more about Rubaare, its people, and our project.

If this is the case, then please visit our Rubaare page on our website. And please consider supporting our fundraising efforts, too!

In our next blog post you will hear from Henry Twinemasiko.