ARTI Tanzania, with the support of the World Bank Biomass Energy Initiative for Africa (BEIA), will train and equip 1800 Tanzanians in 60 villages in Bagamoyo, Kibaha, Mkuranga and Kisararwe Districts on the fabrication of charcoal kilns, pyrolyzation of dry biomass and charcoal briquetting techniques. The goal is to transform the existing charcoal industry from a necessary evil to a rewarding sustainable development opportunity by create green jobs in rural areas.
RATIONAL FOR THE PROJECT
Charcoal, however destructive it may be, can never be eliminated from the lives of Africans for the foreseeable future. Hence it is pertinent to find reliable ways to mitigate forest destruction associated with current charcoal production without sacrificing peoples’ incomes and livelihoods.
This is the rational behind the Waste to Wealth (W2W) project, which aims to empower rural inhabitants, especially existing charcoal producers with knowledge, through hands-on practical training on how charcoal can be made from agricultural waste and any other dry biomass which is locally available and free.
CONCEPTION OF THE PROJECT
The Waste to Wealth (W2W) project was developed after careful evaluation of the trainings completed over the past 30 months. We produced two reports for stakeholders, interviewed trainees and integrated their inputs with our own observations. The result of this process has served to both enhance and reinforces our methodology and therefore provides us with the confidence to seek support for this proposal.
When this sustainable technology is passed on to existing charcoal producers, in a planned manner, and focused in areas which are the main sources for charcoal being used in Dar Es Salaam (largest user in Tanzania) the impact will be higher as compared to training randomly across the country.
JUSTIFICATION
The increasing demand by the urban population is enticing the neighbouring rural inhabitants to produce wood charcoal unsustainably for small economic benefits, which comes at a high cost to the forests and the larger ecosystem. This can be reduced and even stopped if the rural dwellers are empowered with the knowledge to produce and supply charcoal in a sustainable method by using agricultural waste and any dry biomass which is plentifully available. The socio-economic benefits of this project alone justify its implementation. The environmental consequences of not promoting such sustainable charcoal makes the project imperative.