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Expect the unexpected!

6/25/2013

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            I arrived in Chad around 11pm Sunday before. Slept in N’Djamena and then awoke in the wee hours of the morning (4am) to catch the first bus leaving the capital. It took nine hours traveling in 106F/41C heat, sweat gluing us to our seats, for us to arrive in Moundou. Later, after we recovered a bit from our travels we met with Aquilas and Ghislain, two Chadians who work for ENVODEV. We made plans and laid out our goals for the next two weeks: test the Eco-Charcoal’s efficiency, streamline production of the Eco-Charcoal, and make a high efficiency cook-stove to better utilize the Eco-Charcoal. Sounds like an easily achievable list, right? Unsurprisingly, our plans didn’t quite work out the way we had anticipated. But, then again, this is Africa. Things not going according to plan almost becomes the plan if you catch my meaning. 

            First of all, let me tell you about the charcoal project. While we thought we would be streamlining the production process and testing the Eco-Charcoal, Chance granted us a new opportunity by damaging 14 bags of bio-char with flooding. How lucky is that? Having discovered the sopping bags we immediately dried the bio-char in the sun. We are now getting to test the viability of the bio-char after it has been exposed to water. While, on our own, we wouldn’t have thought to douse the bio-char in water, Chance thought it might be an innovative idea.  Imagine, either we find out that the bio-char is unusable (which would be an unfortunate waste), or we find the bio-char is resilient after being soaked. While we didn’t plan on conducting this experiment, hopefully the latter result will prove true thereby transforming a setback into an opportunity. Yet, life wasn’t done playing with us yet. We were also given a turn to test our reflexes and ingenuity when violent storms hit Belaba during our fourth day of production, which was the first day we were there to actually visit. When we saw the clouds come, our lightning fast responses were matched only by the lightning itself as we rescued all the drying bio-char from the rains and stored our workstations. The storm was violent enough that it ripped the doors right off their hinges at our production site. Such storms have continued to test our ingenuity and perseverance as they have repeatedly crashed over our production site. 

            We have also had the opening to ferret out the best workers in Belaba. After utilizing a team who were not able to meet the production quota, we have streamlined our crew. Now we have an Eco-Charcoal production crew who, if they aren’t the fastest this side of the Atlantic, Pacific, Southern, Arctic, and Indian Oceans, are at least the best in Chad. Yet, even the most dedicated crews can’t function in a production line if they aren’t communicating with one another. One such issue with the line of communication presented itself when we came upon our bio-char crew lounging around waiting on manioc paste. The paste takes about forty –five minutes to make, and no one had told the paste maker that they needed paste until they needed paste. This left them with about forty-five minutes of wasted production time waiting while the paste was made. While these disturbances can be frustrating, the experience we are getting from all the errors we’ve observed, like the manioc paste not being ready on time, ultimately helps us as we continue to refine our methods.

            Overall, though it has been quite fun to smooth out the production process as well as play dodge with the weather systems, we have decided to begin the process of taking the next step in equipping and empowering the local community. We are currently finding a local business to partner with who can provide a production site as well as a staff to oversee the process. This business will take over the entire production process, as well as full charcoal program responsibilities, and eventually become financially independent. While production this year will be ending soon as the rainy season approaches (the rainy season lasts from May-October) operations will begin again at the end of October, beginning of November. 

            Another exciting development that occurred in Chad this week was the completion of our first high efficiency FIRES (further improved rammed earth stove). These cook-stoves cut down on household pollution (which therefore reduces local risks of pneumonia, chronic pulmonary disease, lung cancer) while also dramatically increasing the efficiency of normal Chadian cook-stoves, which lose 80% of their total energy load. While we are excited to have finished this F.I.R.E.S. we have also found a local woman who builds stoves of her own, which allow for a 50% charcoal efficiency increase. This discovery provides us with another opportunity to partner with local community members by possibly creating a partnership with this young lady who has struggled to sell the cook-stoves on her own. Potentially, our facilities could offer two forms of cook-stoves, the rammed earth version, as well as this young woman’s.

            Lastly, let me give you an update about our valiant Henry Hilux, our faithful truck, who has been wheezing as of late. With the driving we have had to do for the production season, as well as preparing a mould for our efficient cook-stove; Henry has been creaking under the strain. As a temporary solution we began using moto-taxis to get around. While good in theory, it proved dangerous in practice. Motorcycle accidents are all too frequent in Moundou, and the hazards became all too real after our Envodev team member, Ghislain, was involved in an accident. Thankfully he came out unhurt, but we (Envodev and Henry Hilux) realized that we couldn’t continue to risk people’s lives in order for Henry to get a break. Unfortunately, after that resolution, Henry’s alternator took a turn for the dead when Chuck, Aquilas, and Ghislain were in Belaba testing charcoal. This required a large group of people to push Henry for awhile before they could call him back from the grave. Henry has told us that, while he’s happy to help, his 20 some years of faithful service are weighing heavily upon him, and now he just wants to rust in peace. You can help us put Henry out to pasture today by donating at our GlobalGiving page.

            Well, that about sums up my past two weeks. Our time in Chad has been encouraging as I continue to see this Eco-Charcoal project take on its full body as well as see the first production of our F.I.R.E.S.

Till next time!

-David De Armey, International Director, ENVODEV

Partner with us today and support the successful work we are doing in Chad! You can do this in a variety of ways:

1) Sponsor our growing projects by contributing at our Global Giving page.

2) Share our project by emailing or ‘liking’ our Global Giving page, following our Twitter feed (@ENVODEV), subscribing to our blog, or ‘liking’ our Facebook page. (Also, tell all your favorite friends about us!)

3) If you are savvy enough to have a personal website, why not help a friend out and embed our project widget onto your homepage? It’s extremely easy (especially for an informed individual like yourself) and is a fantastic way to raise awareness among family, friends, and colleagues!

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First production

6/7/2013

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Belaba / Chad. ENVODEV is proud to see Eco-Charcoal see the light! After many months of preparation, trips to train villages, follow-up work, communication, we finally see the first briquettes being made! The time is just right. The rainy season is approaching, and with rain comes a higher demand for cooking fuel. Thank you to all who have been supporting this project! The charcoal program has a bright future ahead, and our team in Chad is very thankful for the care and attention all of you have demonstrated these past months to make this possible. 

This is the first official production of Eco-Charcoal since we launched the charcoal program in December 2012. The bio char being used comes from Domane and Badéi. Moundou, fuel is on the way!
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1000 pounds of bio-char

6/7/2013

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PictureBiochar in Moundou
Moundou - Chad / ENVODEV received its long-awaited first shipment of bio char from the villages of Badei and Domane. The bags were brought to Moundou at the end of the month of May. Nearly 1000 pounds of bio char were shipped to our centralized production site on local transportation, consisting of a pick-up truck that routinely drives through remote areas to pick up and drop off all different types of goods and fresh produce.

Each bag of char was purchased from the trained teams in Domane and Badei, giving the team members a new source of income they never could have imagined before. Once Eco-Charcoal is produced and introduced on the local market, the profit will be reinvested into the program. The ENVODEV team is thrilled to see that production is finally happening.

But our program has not been without its challenges. To name a few:

1. Our vehicle, though completely repaired two years ago, needs to be replaced. Our Toyota Hilux is taken to the repair shop after each trip to a village. We are exploring different ways of obtaining a new vehicle that will garantee the expansion of our program in the coming months.

2. Part of training a team in the pyrolysis process is insisting that kilns be left to cool off completely before opening. This garantees full carbonization. If the kiln is opened prematurely, there is a risk that a small amount of biomass ignites upon contact with oxygen. Even just a pinch of ember will slowly but surely consume the entire bag of bio char. The team at Domane learned the importance of respecting cooling instructions the hard way. After losing a few bags of bio char to combustion from within the bag, Domane made sure to give kilns enough time to cool. Fortunately, the biomass used is free, and all they really wasted was time.

3. The biochar has been transported out to Belaba, where production will have to take place for some time. The property we have been using has been partially taken by the City of Moundou for the expansion of the nearby bridge. The team we trained last year in Belaba will oversee production and help with sales. The team, Association pour la Protection de l'Eco-Système (APRO-ECO), has been waiting for this moment for a long time. Unable to collect enough raw material around the Moundou area, they knew it had to come from rural areas. (See picture of the property during the construction work).

But challenges are to be expected. Good things do not come without problems. In fact there is a saying in Chad. If a project doesn't come without problems, it's not a real project.

We still need capital to pay APRO-ECO members for the upcoming production of Eco-Charcoal. Please continue to support our project! Here is how you can help!

1. Continue to engage in our project by making another donation.

2. Share our project by emailing or 'liking' our GlobalGiving page.

3. If you have a personal website, embed our project widget, it's easy and can really help us raise awareness among contacts, friends and family. (see instruction on this page)


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New bio char and new briquette binder - Eco-charcoal

1/26/2013

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Picture
Ghislain holding sesame chaff near Ndjamena (Nov. 12)
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. 

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Radio broadcasts build eco-charcoal momentum in Belaba

4/24/2012

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Last Friday was a good day for Apro-Eco! The group produced a total of 384 eco-charcoal briquettes. This represents 1.5 bags of charcoal, which can last up to three weeks for one household. 
As a result of the past weeks' radio broadcasts featuring Belaba's fabrication site, Chad's Social Action Program has taken particular interest in our charcoal enterprise. A representative of the SAP contacted our national coordinator, Dadje Aquilas, to express his excitement and support for the efforts ENVODEV is making  to palliate the enormous problems of deforestation and desertification in Chad. A delegation from the SAP in Ndjamena will soon come to Moundou to discuss the possibilities of a partnership with ENVODEV. The SAP would like to see more fabrications sites around Chad.
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Production begins!

11/17/2011

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After successful training, Belaba prepares for dry season´s production. 
Picture
(Yanice Akono training group of women at Belaba) - October 24

In October, a group of motivated people joined and formed a group called APRO-ECO (Association for the Protection of the Ecosystem). This association was specifically created to manage the production of rice-straw based charcoal briquettes.

Now, ENVODEV is working closely with APRO-ECO to develop a sustainable plan of action. Some of the tasks at hand include finding a strategy for collecting rice-straw around the Moundou area. The amount of communication with local rice cultivators is huge, yet indispensable. Volunteers of APRO-ECO must spend time explaining to farmers the benefits of handing the rice-straw to APRO-ECO instead of burning it in the fields. ENVODEV is encouraged to see the local community pitch in time and energy to collect the huge amount of rice-straw left in the fields.

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ENVODEV is a registered National Association in Chad.