How 'green' briquettes conserve Kwale's environment

Just take some cow dung, add pruned tree branches, ground up and burnt. And add torn old newspapers, sawdust and water. Put it in a simple charcoal-making machine, manual or electric.

Cyprian Muchiri and a farm hand feeds and operates the machine. They are given out throughout the county, depending on the electricity supply.

Out come cylinders of charcoal to dry in the scorching morning sun in Perani village in Lunga Lunga, Kwale county. The sun is very hot due to the effects of climate change caused by excessive charcoal burning.

Perani is one of the villages where tree felling and charcoal burning used to be rampant.   

Cyprian Muchiri and his wife Alice Wangari look proudly at the contraption donated by the WWF-Kenya.

Wangari is also boiling  beans on an improved charcoal jiko with heat that is clean and steady.

Muchiri is one among the hundreds of beneficiaries of an empowerment and environmental conservation programme by  WWF-Kenya in partnership with the Kenya Forest Service.

Residents, especially the charcoal producers and communities bordering the forests are trained in advanced technology of charcoal production and cooking energy. This reduces pressure on natural resources for better livelihoods through environmental conservation.

The residents are also encouraged to grow and conserve trees. The project aims at protecting fragile ecosystems for biodiversity and sustainable use.

Muchiri is now an ardent lover of nature and has decided charcoal briquettes is the only way to go.

"No more cutting trees, we have already caused enough damage to the environment," he told the Star.

The old man said the charcoal briquettes have proved to be beneficial to human and environmental conservation. He said they produce less carbon and are not hazardous to health.

Muchiri said most of the people in the environmental training had suffered from chest and eye-related diseases from relying on harmful traditional cooking methods. 

He said since he adopted the charcoal briquettes, he has been healthier.

"I am old but physically fit because I don't expose myself to polluted cooking energy," he said.

Muchiri said the briquettes are easy to make and save time and trees.

He said he only uses pruned tree branches which he burns and grinds to form charcoal dust and mixes them with cow dung and water in a ratio of 10:5.

Muchiri said many residents in the village seek his expertise.

He said some would come to him with their own charcoal dust and he helps with cow dung since it is readily available on his farm to make the charcoal briquettes.

Muchiri said with the government ban on tree cutting in Kwale and tough penalties, the locals find it safe to make charcoal briquettes.

He said the tree population has also dwindled and residents are afraid of walking long distances to fetch firewood.

Apart from briquettes, Muchiri makes biogas from animal waste.

Muchiri said he uses the gas for cooking in case they are in a rush or want to cook food that takes less time to be served.

Wangari said the charcoal briquette-making technology has saved her from stress and the risk of being attacked by wild animals while looking for firewood.

"When I wake up in the morning, the briquettes are there, I just cook and engage in other activities," she said.

Some 300 metres away from Muchiri, Matheka Kingo with his colleagues are also making charcoal briquettes.

They are using charcoal dust and old newspapers which they grind and pour into an electric briquettes machine.

King'oo said the technology is saving them a lot of money and resources.

He said the briquettes are three times better than the normal charcoal in terms of cooking and energy saving.

King'oo said one kilogram of charcoal briquettes can cook for six hours and one kilo is only Sh50.

He said before the Covid-19 pandemic they used to sell the briquettes in hotels in the region, and  they earned a lot of money.

"We sold them in hotels and restaurants and clients liked the charcoal since they are cheap, affordable and effective," he said.

Sammy Mutua said the technology of briquettes production has become a source of livelihood for them.

He said they are training jobless youth which helps in employment opportunities and keep them out of criminal groups.

"Our lives have completely changed. The briquettes machines have had immense impact on our socio-economic activities," he said.

Mutua said the technology has also contributed to tree planting since every member has set aside some acres for trees.

Chizi Kilango from Dzombo is also benefiting from the project.

She no longer treks for long distances in search of firewood but uses the nearby old pruned tree branches from their farms to make charcoal briquettes.

"Women risking their lives in the forest looking for firewood is past us now. We get charcoal briquettes at our convenience," she said.

However, not all the residents have adopted the technology for lack of knowledge.

Kingo said most resident think charcoal briquettes are for the wazungu (white people) and educated citizens.

Kingo said many prefer to use the old charcoal and ignore the briquettes.

"People still don't trust the charcoal briquettes. A lot of awareness is needed," he said.

He is also calling for government and WWF to help increase the number of the machines in the county to effectively win the fight against climate change.

(Edited by V. Graham)