Moundou - ENVODEV Chad is pleased to announce that the tests they have been making on sesame chaff have been positive. Sesame is grown across southern Chad, and like rice-straw, is burned after harvest.

On 09 November our team tried carbonizing sesame chaff just east of N'Djamena. Since those preliminary tests, Aquilas, Ghislain, and members of APRO-ECO have been collecting sesame chaff in Moundou to get enough char to make briquettes.

According to Aquilas, the charcoal briquette quality equals that of the rice-straw charcoal. This news comes at a great time as ENVODEV is in the process of turning this project into a larger sustainable vocational program (Charcoal as Vocation). 

Along with this encouraging discovery for our project, our ENVODEV staff in Chad has been working closely with villagers of Tilo and Belaba to test a new form of binder. The current binder used to make the briquettes is manioc, a root also known as Kassava. But manioc remains our number one cost for briquette making, and the cost is fairly high. That expense will decrease with time as ENVODEV forms partnerships with local manioc cultivators, but in the meantime, a cheaper binder would be more than welcome to find. Women of Belaba made a new binder from a plant that grows in the wild. This plant, used to make a basic sauce called Tan Koul, is much more abundant and available than manioc, and in terms of cost, represents only one fifth of what manioc costs. 

Both the discovery of sesame chaff as a new form of bio char and the wild plant as an alternative binder will inevitably help the eco-charcoal project become more accessible to everyone, and more easily sustainable. 

Since the beginning of December, the ENVODEV Chad Team has been working relentlessly at making the charcoal project happen. After a successful demonstration and preliminary training at Nya, we have been in the process of building new carbonizing kilns to transform as much rice-straw as possible. Fidel, the leader of the Nya Team, warned us that cultivators have already begun burning away rice-straw in their fields, and that we need to move quickly and do a full-training session as soon as possible. A full training session will last three to five days, and require funds we are still in the process of gathering. Global Giving has yet to begin the disbursement of funds raised during the December Challenge, during which over $5,000 USD was collected.

In the meantime, our ENVODEV Team has explored another area where rice is extensively cultivated. Dadje Aquilas and Rodoumbaye Ghislain reached a location called Tilo, just 20 km east of Moundou. This area is very productive, and a local team is already set up to receive training in Tilo. Dadje Aquilas and Djems, a Chadian volunteer, performed a first carbonization demonstration at Tilo, and have greatly motivated the new Team called "KOSGUELBE," which means Supporting a Village. Tilo will reinforce charcoal production capacity by sending carbonized rice-straw back to Moundou, where charcoal briquette production will actually take place.

By contributing to our project, you are participating in the economic development and environmental protection of Chad. Thank you for your support, and for taking interest in one of the most neglected regions of the world.

 David De Armey

International Director