Energy: A crisis
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Chad is a net oil and gas exporter, yet it is facing an energy crisis. Over 95% of Chadians use solid fuels (wood charcoal, or raw wood) as their sole source of household fuel.
Today however, charcoal is very difficult to come by after a government ban on its production. The reasoning behind the ban is simple enough, deforestation is a critical problem, draining ground water, eroding soils and making an arid country even dryer. Desertification, the result of deforestation, is one of the greatest challenges facing the Chadian people's future. But the hardships the law has on day to day life is forcing many to continue using raw wood or illegal wood charcoal to cook their food. ENVODEV is seeking to address this issue by developing an alternative to wood charcoal. The widespread manufacture of briquettes made from local rice straw is an opportunity to create jobs while addressing these serious environmental issues. |
A solution
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ENVODEV has been looking to find a solution to this urgent crisis since 2008. Observations began in Doba with a local engineer and a Chadian association 'Groupement Espoir,' and tests on alternative fuels were made during approximately two years.
With the technical help of the D-Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), significant progress was made to bring a culturally adapted cooking fuel - biomass-based charcoal (Eco-Charcoal). The abundance of rice-straw and other unused agricultural residue has opened a way for the D-Lab method to be implemented in southern Chad. |
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Eco-charcoal
Briquettes are made from agro-waste drawn from villages and their surrounding fields. Just like sesame straw, or Guinee corn stocks, rice straw is burned after harvest. By carbonizing the rice straw, and combining the ensuing material with manioc glue, a locally available adhesive, the mixture is then put through a manual press. The charcoal briquettes that come out of the press are left to dry in the sun for a couple of days to harden. Once the briquette is dry, it is ready to be sold and used for cooking.
Briquettes are very similar to wood charcoal both in form and in the rate at which they burn making them a perfect alternative to the current source used in Chadian homes across the country.
Briquettes are very similar to wood charcoal both in form and in the rate at which they burn making them a perfect alternative to the current source used in Chadian homes across the country.
vocational development
The production of charcoal directly addresses employment. As a main source of income, the money flow coming from the charcoal business is very important for many villagers. With briquettes, the gathering and the production offer an alternative activity and income for villagers. While some work on the carbonization process in villages, others at our central production point work on pressing the carbonized paste. Once the briquettes are made and dried, they are ready to be sold on the market.